Digital Media and Neurodevelopmental Differences

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Alper, M., Alcorn, A. M., Harrison, K., Manganello, J. A., & Romeo, R. R. (2024). Digital Media and Neurodevelopmental Differences. In Handbook of Children and Screens (pp. 55-60). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_8

Publication date: 5 Dec 2024 Added to AutiHub: 11 Sep 2026 Type: Book chapter Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Meryl Alper
  2. Alyssa M. Alcorn
  3. Kristen Harrison *
  4. Jennifer A. Manganello
  5. Rachel R. Romeo

Abstract

Abstract “Screen media” guidance is not a one-size-fits-all, and this is especially true for young people whose development occurs outside the window of “typical” development. Given the wide range of neurodevelopmental differences, the review of children’s digital media use research in this chapter focuses on those diagnosed with autism and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—conditions that differ but share many underlying cognitive and clinical characteristics. While the evidence base is uneven and incomplete, existing research reviews indicate that screen media use by children and adolescents with an autism and/or ADHD diagnosis can be not only high-risk but also high-reward. The current chapter organizes the major findings into (1) developmental domains for media use and (2) ecological contents for media engagement. We recommend future research directions and provide recommendations for stakeholder groups such as clinicians, policymakers, educators, and technologists. It is now a given that neurodivergent children engage with digital media at least as much if not more than neurotypical children do but often for different reasons. As such, it is important to move conversations toward practical concerns about effective, personally meaningful, and healthy usage.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 17:34.

Cited references
31
With a DOI
26
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
3 / 31 (9.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
3 / 31 (9.7%)
References with detected author names
30 / 31 (96.8%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
97
From DOI or external metadata
97
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
6
16 / 97 (16.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 81 / 97 (83.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
3 / 97 (3.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 3 / 16 (18.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 3 / 93 (3.2%).
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