Peppa Pig one of the main causes Autism??

Today I read an article online that a group of "experts" at Harvard University had done a study and concluded that peppa pig is "one of the main causes of autism among children".

That is a pretty strong statement to make....

As a mother of an autistic child who attends a special needs school I call total bullsh*t on this

I believe that peppa pig can and does encourage bad behavior in children - Peppa bullies her little brother, is stubborn with her friends, is not polite and generally acts inappropriately getting away with her poor behaviour with no consequences. This is behaviour that may well be copied and has some characteristics of autistic traits however this is just learned bad behaviour that can be over come with good parenting and changing the TV channel. Autism can not be "cured" in this way....

Autism is so much more than the naughty child often stereotyped and the behaviour that can be learned from this TV show.

I would like to question how much time these "experts" have spent with autistic children during their study.... if the children showed more than just behavioral issues, did their social skills start to decline? did their communication come to a halt? did they start to experience ANY other autistic traits other than the stereotyped bad behaviour? Whether there study also showed that when peppa pig was removed from the childrens TV schedule if they returned to having the same behavioural skills of a neurotypical child within time - as of course there is no cure for autism, it is a lifelong condition switching the TV channel wont take that away.

From my own experience and struggles with getting my sons diagnosis if a childs only trait is bad behaviour they will not get an autism disgnosis - they are not handed out to every child who is more naughty than the average child and you really have to fight for your child.

I would love to invite these "experts" to spend a few days with my son and tell me if my sons incontinence, sensory processing disorder, poor communication/ verbal skills, lack of socialising skills which are all his autistic traits as well as his behavioural issues could all be caused by a TV show.

My opinion is autism is one of those things - you either have it or you don't. There is nothing as a parent you can do to prevent your children being on the spectrum, certainly not by banning a TV show!