I’ve been reading the thousands of comments and conversations about this topic recently, and some people have some good points…. And some don’t.
The good the bad and the ugly. I use this phrase a lot, not just because it was a movie that I was brought up on and loved, but because – in life – we tend to get all these things, but many people tend to ignore or sugar coat –“the bad” and “the ugly”. When it comes to screens and their use – the bad and the ugly is often seen more than the sugar coating. The ‘good’ is turned evil, and people demonise it. Because ignorant and biased people see what they want to see, and vilify or try to discredit things they don’t understand or can’t control.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Education (not ignorance and avoidance) is key.
With the government putting new laws on the use of an educational tool that is often used quite liberally by autistic, ADHD’ers, non-speaking people, and homeschoolers etc etc etc – I feel like it’s a topic I have to weigh in on, as it affects my family – or does it? I haven’t really decided, or even really know until the law comes into practice.
My kids have been using YouTube since about 1 and half years old. Many people will gasp or shake their heads at me – or tell me off and tell me that I’m a bad parent. But what if I explained their own fear and ignorance back at them? What if I told you that I would’ve been a hideous f’d up parent if I had have limited them – denied them or controlled their use of screens???? Because I truly believe that denying my children access to the only tool that finally gave them the ability to use ableist mouth words – would’ve been a truly DICK move on my part!
I (when I was a child) and my kids hated books. I never liked them when I was a child, I’d cry and do almost anything to avoid them – they were boring!! And they simply didn’t meet my needs as a divergent or a-typical learner. Making me read in order to learn actually did the opposite – it made me either UNlearn, or avoid learning… books were a hindrance to my development, not an advantage.
“What did autistic kids do before the internet?”: I see adults asking this particular redundant and insulting question all the time. They sometimes use this question in a smart ass attempt to nullify our need for screens and for platforms like YouTube, and some people truly want to know the answer – because they are curious and would like to know how to help their own ND kids -please be the second person. But, I feel like it’s still one of the most ridiculous and offensive things to say to me or my kids, so please be kind when asking us. It’s also not as ‘smart’ as they think it is. In fact it’s idiotic in my opinion.
Change out the words for anything else, and you’ll see my point… Eg: “what did you do before sliced bread” = “we sliced it, but it was crap, it wasn’t efficient, sometimes we cut ourselves, we found a different way to do it, we adapted, it took longer and we hated it, but we tried and coped”. That’s the same as learning without screens -we coped – we didn’t thrive. We struggled; we didn’t do things with ease like we do now. DO you want us to go back to struggling and just ‘coping’? Because that’s what this seems like it’s about.
· How did I and generations before me learn?
I didn’t learn very well at all before screens. My development was stunted and hindered because traditional methods of learning didn’t suit me. I learnt through TV. I’m a 70’s/80’s child – I watched documentaries and the ABC/BBC non-stop to learn the things I needed; like speech, reading and writing. I used screens to learn, they were just in a different medium, and when the internet was born- I learnt even more – the world opened exponentially to me.
Before that (in the 40’s and 50’s), my parents tell me they learnt through the radio, through force (blackboard erasers and chalk being thrown at them, and the strap being used on them, kneeling on pencils or smacked, and food and water being denied to them) and through doing -but it took longer, because you were forced to wait until an adult was ready and able to show them, and have the patience to repeat and find different ways of explaining until the child understood it properly. It was laborious and completely ineffective.
Before that (in the 1910’s and 20’s)– my ADHD grandparent told me he learnt through doing (on the job) – being forced and hit and controlled. That’s not safe learning – that’s abuse. So yes – “before the internet” we used other methods to learn. They took longer, weren’t as affective, they sometimes stunted /hindered our development (because they weren’t appropriate for our brains, or meet our individual learning needs) and in some cases they abused us, caused trauma and truly harmed us. And we had no choice.
Do you still think the comment “what did you do before the internet” is a ‘smart’ or valid question? You shouldn’t! It’s blatantly harmful!
Before women’s rights, I couldn’t have had my children, or gotten a job, or attained a degree or multiple degrees – but if you think it was better before women’s rights – just because we ‘used to do something differently’. Or that we should now limit women’s rights, or fear women’s rights because we used to ‘do without it’ then you are a neanderthal – someone who wants to avoid progress and live in the dark ages. Grow with us, learn with us – throw out your fear mongering about a medium that doesn’t hurt anyone – and learn how to use it safely and effectively to make the world a better place. Don’t fear what you don’t understand – instead learn and educate yourself so you do understand it.. the fear will go away, and you will stop hurting others by imposing outdated ideas and control on other people who rely on these things.
· You should use a library instead.
Telling someone to learn what they need from a library is funny to me. It’s like telling someone to not buy their groceries from the convenient supermarket, but to grow everything and make everything themselves. Apart from the fact that some regional areas don’t have libraries anymore (or they are not readily available and hard for a 6 yo to get to on their own), or they are so small that they hardly have 4 shelves worth of books. But they have also turned digital. Many libraries now supply computers for people to look at YouTube or other platforms instead of looking at a book. Many people turn to audio books or e-books or other things to learn. It’s so damned antiquated and not accessible to all - that it’s almost a joke. I still like libraries, but my kids hate them – they have a ‘weird smell’ apparently, and they won’t go into them. SPD is real and I honour their decision, since there’s always another way, and in many cases a better way.
I have my books available for libraries worldwide, because I know some people prefer them. But what if I said that the government is going to ban all libraries for under 16’s???? Would you be up in arms? You should be – because limiting anything is tantamount to fascism. It’s a way to segregate, control, manipulate and oppress people.
· Go to a museum or seek out the community instead
This recommendation from adults that fear YouTube and screens is also ridiculous to me, and I love to respond with; “Careful – your privilege is showing!!!!”.
Why? Because people who live in regional areas, often have no access to galleries and museums, and people who are disabled or people who rightly fear things like deportation, segregation or oppression do not have access to those things. The thing they likely do have access to – is the internet and YouTube – in the privacy and safety of their own homes. Homeless people, or isolated people also rely on things that are more accessible to them.
Did you know they have gallery and museum tours online? Did you know many galleries and museums are NOT wheelchair or disability accessible. I took my kids to the Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building. I had a massive meltdown because it was totally inaccessible for autistics. One of my kids or I had a meltdown at other venues like the Melbourne Zoo, and the Werribee Open Range Zoo and Werribee Mansion – because they are disability inaccessible. Same with the Melbourne Conference Centre, Crown, Myers Christmas window displays, and most other cultural and learning experiences. The things that you think are accessible – believe me – are NOT! Not to all people. Online platforms and learning tools have opened the world to us – stop trying to slam the door on us again.
· See from another’s perspective – your limits are NOT about protecting children.
Do you think that non-speaking peoples’ lives would be better if you limit screens? Do you think that deaf people’s lives would be better? Your arbitrary limits aren’t about helping children – don’t fool yourself – they’re about hurting minority groups and oppressing people. They’re about ignorance and fear. They’re about control and societal stupidity -to avoid seeing themselves as the problem -instead of an inanimate object that helps so many.
Do you know that some non-speaking people use screens and specifically YouTube to teach themselves ‘mouth words’ and enough gestalts to be able to become a ‘speaking’ person? Do you know that some non-speaking people use YouTube to find bits or chunks of music or movies etc to create communication? They actually cut bits into repeatable language to play instead of typing or spelling, speaking, or showing pictures. They need access to YouTube for many years (often in childhood) to learn to do this for themselves. Denying access denies them a ‘voice’.
· What’s the difference between a TV and an ipad?
I can tell you that I didn’t pick up a book and read it till grade 9. I didn’t love reading til much much later I think it was my mid to late 20’s. but my vocabulary was bigger than my peers (when I finally learnt to use mouth words), and my education in some areas was better too. Some of my friends had been limited by their parents – limited to only watching an hour of TV a day. Why? Because ignorance breeds contempt. Yes, I’ll call it as I see it. Those parents weren’t educated into why and how screens are useful and excellent educational tools for growing minds. Instead they limited their children’s access to a minefield of knowledge based on outdated, biased, myopic and detrimental rumours about the ‘affects of screens on growing bodies’. They hated TV screens – but no one really knew or understood why, just like computer screens today.
And that outdated and offensive rhetoric is still being used to deny a child access to a child-led education.
· Independent learning
What is a child-led education? It’s one where the child understands their own needs and learning ability, and chooses the things they learn, how they learn them, and from what medium.
When adults tell others that you must learn from a book, or go to a library or a institutionalised mainstream school to learn something – they are showing their ignorance, but also their complete bias for one medium over another.
Centuries ago, adults didn’t like children reading books – they preferred / and forced their children to learn through doing. Eg: get a job – learn while doing. They believed an education was a waste of time/ money, book learning was nonsense, and that spending all your time reading was an evil or dangerous thing to do. Just like how they talk about screens today. We are repeating the ridiculous and neanderthal thinking of old. We are repeating idiocracy.
· Why defend book reading and not reading from a screen?
People started reading books, and defending the use of book reading centuries ago, why do we have to repeat the idiocy of our ancestors with a new medium? We eventually came to the conclusion that reading was the epitome of a ‘good education’ and then it became the ‘only’ way to learn… just as learning on the job used to be.
Can we please skip the part in history where we hinder each other and abhor change, and hate others because they’ve found a better way. I’m sure humans hated and feared sliced bread and the wheel at one stage in history too – but now we know better. Please skip this idiocy in time.
This reminds me of typical people telling autistics that we ‘hate change’ – and yet we are the ones who have been attributed to inventing many technologies and definitely accused of loving it too much. We’ve sopped it up like sponges, and we’re finally making headway and finding life easier because of it. Is your hatred of screens and their use your way of controlling and keeping ND or disabled people oppressed? Or is it your fear of the unknown that keeps you from using it? Whatever it is – I beg you to GET OVER IT!
Autistic people are told to ‘get over it’ all the time. To stop having meltdowns, to go outside, get off our screens and do something. But your ableism and bias is blinding you – we are doing something, we are happy, we are connected more than ever and thriving more than ever before…. Your insistence on using outdated things (like books and libraries) when there are better ways to do things, just shows your true colours and your misunderstanding (and sometimes hatred) of divergent or disabled people.
· Why do we love screens?
My kid who used a screen and YouTube at one y/o – was using it to regulate himself. But mostly…he was also using it to teach himself to read and to communicate. He was mostly non-speaking till about 3 and half y/o. My other child was non-speaking till about 4 and a half y/o. And I was mostly non-speaking till about 7 y/o. Even though my second child was more “severely speech delayed” (according to his SLP) than I or my other child were – I was delayed for longer due to the lack of screen availability, and due to the lack of YouTube… the internet did not exist then, and families did not own personal computers… that didn’t come till the mid 90’s for my family.
I can actually prove – through my families developmental progress and A-typical learning needs, as well as our eventual surpassing of our peers – that screens are the only option for learning for some people. Not all ND people learn through them, some prefer and need other mediums – like books or ‘learning on the job’ so to speak. And that’s fine too – but you shouldn’t limit some people’s access to their only method of learning just because you fear it or don’t understand it – that’s called direct discrimination. I wouldn’t deny you ‘learning on the job’. Or deny you reading a book – so why limit or deny me or mine the things we need.
· The new laws that apparently don’t start till the end of the year, don’t necessarily stop access, but they do prevent many things.
One thing is that children will now have to wait to be given access to a powerful educational tool. Their parent must give them access through the use of an adults account. This may seem innocuous to you, but I can assure you, that for child led learning and children who are intrinsically motivated to learn – this will stunt and kill intrinsic motivation. Having to ask to be able to access their own learning is abuse in my opinion. Adults have access to online learning at all hours of the day and in nearly all spaces – why do we want to teach children that learning is a privilege that can be taken away on a whim, or that education is/should be controlled/ monitored and can’t be inspirational on their terms – with their needs, and in their way.
When you limit anything – you can cause people to become sneaky, or to get around the limit, or you kill the want for it. Do we really want to kill the love of self-learning, self-exploration and kill their intrinsic love of learning?
· One point I came across was that when you deny access to something until a child is 16 – you also limit their education and understanding of the thing – and you demonise it.
Instead of growing up being taught how to use the thing safely and interact with it in an appropriate way that keeps all parties safe – Children will instead suddenly have access to a powerful tool at an age where hormones are rampant and impulse is unchecked. It’s an age that’s extremely volatile and requires patience and care, but if you remember being that age, (I know I remember); I was impatient, not caring, mad at the world and burnt out. I had no ability to sit and listen or care what adults said to me – I’d given up on them, and them on me. If I’d have suddenly had unlimited, unfettered access to a powerful tool that I had no education about – and no understanding about safety – I would’ve gotten myself into a lot of trouble.
I teach my primary school aged children how to use YouTube and other platforms safely – so that they grow up armed and educated to protect themselves and others. Limiting would be the dumbest and cruellest thing I could imagine doing to them. We sometimes take longer than our NT peers to learn social cues and learn how to use certain things that involve social nuance – If I waited till 16 to teach them these things – they’d be way behind and maybe never catch up or learn how to stay safe online. If I limited them – they’d just find a way to sneak away and do those things anyway – without the safety of me… they’re smart and very tech savvy kids.
They’d perhaps use them inappropriately in an attempt at revenge, or false sense of control, or gaining back their autonomy. Children push boundaries and rules when they see them as unfair or unjust – and this particular law – I feel is unfair and utterly nonsensical – so yes – I’m going to find a way around it for my kids. I’m not going to break the law, or disobey as such… I’ll just need to find ways that my kids can be able in this world that keeps trying to find new ways and things to inflict upon us that disable us. And this law in some ways – disables autistic or otherwise disabled people… maybe in very small ways, but it still does it.
My kids have been using these tools on my account since they started using it – so nothing (I Hope) will actually change for us. But for others who follow d-head politicians and their backwards and ignorant beliefs blindly- I beg you to think twice, I beg you to see your child as a human with human rights and ability/responsibility to use something appropriately with proper care and modelling/teaching from you. Presume they are competent to take control of themselves and learn using different mediums safely.
Did you know that decades ago, certain governments did exactly the same thing… but to books! The exact same thing – just a different medium. They wanted to control the information circulating and the education being taught or seen by the young. We now call that thing fascism for a very good reason. They burnt those books that they wanted to control… Yes -the limiting and controlling of information is the same as book burning. It didn’t entirely stop people from reading those books – but it did make people want to find copies of those books and keep them safe, or to write more books about those topics that governments wanted to control– it made people flock towards those books – not away from them. So, what do you think banning a different medium will do? They can’t burn the internet or burn YouTube – but they are trying to do the exact same thing. Do you think that maybe this will force YouTube to be more savvy and find a way around it? Or perhaps more platforms will rise to take its place?
Book burning is fascist; the control of information is fascist – see this for what it is.
It will likely change very little, even if anything does change at all. Those children who need screens and YouTube to learn but have parents who don’t understand or are biased against their child’s needs -will likely harm their children with their fascism. Or….The children who find a way around it – will find a way around it. YouTube may become infamous in certain circles and perhaps more popular in others. Other platforms might arise to take over the educational side of YouTube, or YouTube might make another more timid educational version (like they tried to do but failed with YouTube Kids – yes YouTube Kids has offensive stuff on it too). And some people who could’ve benefited from the good things that YouTube does – may never even understand or comprehend their loss – because ignorant people stay ignorant in a vacuums and in silos.
I’m not sure what the future holds. I only know that online learning is growing, not disappearing, and the attempt to control it or to limit it will probably just make it even more popular.
Do what you need or want to do with your own family – but please don’t push your ableist or biased bs laws about how we educate ourselves- onto us. Some of us rely on tools like YouTube to learn – if you don’t – then fine – that’s your life and choice. But leave us alone, we want no part of fascism!