The Screen Time Dilemma: Navigating Screen Use Among Children with Disabilities (Part 2)

1.5 CEUs (0.5 Supervision, 1 General)

Abstract:
Look around: chances are, you and everyone nearby are looking at a screen. Portable devices have transformed society, allowing us to stay connected, check allergy ingredients, and access remote education. This reliance deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic, cementing screens as an essential part of daily life. For families of children with disabilities, these tools are especially vital. Throughout a single day, a child might use an AAC app with an SLP, complete schoolwork on a Chromebook, receive ABA therapy via a technician’s tablet, and unwind with videos while parents tend to the household.

Over the past 25 years of working with children and their families, we have noted a steady rise in portable screen use as a primary leisure activity, which frequently creates barriers to teaching critical skills. While we have witnessed the negative impacts of this trend, we also recognize the benefits this technology can offer. A recent meta-analysis shows that children with neuro-developmental disabilities exceed typical screen time expectations, averaging between 3.3 and 3.7 hours a day for those with ASD, ADHD, and cerebral palsy. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics has shifted away from strict time limits toward general “healthy use” guidelines, putting these ideas into practice is tough. For parents of children who exhibit challenging behaviors, the boundaries suggested by major pediatric and psychiatric organizations are often incredibly difficult to enforce. Furthermore, many of the behavior technicians we supervise are young enough that they have never known a world without mobile devices. Because their perspective differs from ours, they need clearer guidance and supervisory support to manage the inevitable effects of screens on ABA treatment delivery.

In the first of this two-part presentation series, we will review the literature on the costs and benefits of portable screens, discuss ethical implications, present methods to assess the potential impact of devices on your clients and their families, and offer supervision strategies. In the second part, we will present detailed assessment and programming methods designed to help learners and families maximize the opportunities screens provide while minimizing their negative impacts.

Learning Objectives (Part 2):
Action plan for target selection

• Identify classes of appropriate leisure activities as CABs (contextually appropriate behaviors as skill acquisition targets)
• Structure SBT branches to teach leisure skills, expanded screen skills
• Structure SBT branches to teach other skills that will provide a broader repertoire of reinforcement-contacting behaviors
• Structure out-of-session targets to practice toleration of device maintenance and skills related to device use
• Use dimensions grids to expand flexibility regarding many aspects of device usage
• Plan for supervision considerations where EO and SR context may both involve access to screens
• Plan for supervision considerations specific to in-home services

Presenter Bios:
Emily Kearney, MA, BCBA, LBA. 10 years’ experience as a BCBA, 25 years’ experience teaching children age 18 months to 18 years with a focus on early communication and social development and 9 years practicing PFA/SBT. I started in the field before most people had computers and before there were smartphones, tablets, etc. and have observed the changes to the therapeutic context and to families since these devices have become so common and easy to access. I have reviewed the research on the problems that these cause to child development even among typically developing children let alone children with disabilities that affect their social awareness, observational learning, and tendency towards reinforcement involving repetition. And I have had to adjust my programming and supervision over the past 5-10 years as the devices become increasingly involved in both reinforcement and EO contexts for so many learners both in and out of SBT use.

Taylor Johnson has an MS in Behavior Analysis and Therapy and is a BCBA. She is also an Internationally certified Behavior Analysts (IBA) and a Board Certified Autism Professional. (BCAP). She has been implementing Skills Based Treatment for over 5 years and has also been a Moderator in the PFA and SBT Facebook group for the past 5 years. She has implemented the process with both highly verbal learners as well as non-verbal learners and in both English and German. She has completed over 25 hours of online training with FTF consulting. She was clinical director of one of the first ABA clinics in Stuttgart, Germany and is currently offering direct services as well as parent training to clients in Germany and Switzerland.