Children and teenagers with autism spend more time playing video games than their peers, and are more likely to become addicted to these games, new research suggests.

They also watch more television than their peers.

Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a biological disorder of the brain that impairs communication and social skills. Signs can include an absence of eye contact, apparent aloofness, avoidance of physical contact even with family, difficulty dealing with interruptions to routine and a lack of interest in other children and what they are doing.

According to US researchers, many parents and doctors have noticed that children with ASD are ‘fascinated with technology'. They decided to look into this further.

They looked at the amount of time 202 young people with ASD spent using screen-based media. This was compared to 179 siblings without ASD.

The study found that those with ASD spent more time watching television and playing video games than their siblings. They spent less time on social media, such as Facebook. They also spent less time taking part in non-screen activities, including physical activities.

On the other hand, their siblings without ASD spent more time on non-screen activities than they spent watching television or playing video games.

"We found that children with ASD spent much more time playing video games than typically developing children, and they are much more likely to develop problematic or addictive patterns of video game play," explained clinical child psychologist, Dr Micah Mazurek, of the University of Missouri.

This was backed up by a second study of 169 boys with ASD, which showed that problematic video game use was linked to certain behaviours, such as engaging in arguments and refusing to follow directions.

However, Dr Mazurek emphasised that it is unclear whether the games actually cause these problem behaviours.

She noted that children with ASD may be attracted to video games ‘because they can be rewarding, visually engaging and do not require face-to-face communication or social interaction'.

"Parents need to be aware that, although video games are especially reinforcing for children with ASD, they may have problems disengaging from these games," she explained.

She said that while the amount of time children are allowed to play these games should be limited, understanding why young people with ASD like them so much could help doctors to develop technology-based therapies for the condition.

"Using screen-based technologies, communication and social skills could be taught and reinforced right away. However, more research is needed to determine whether the skills children with ASD might learn in virtual reality environments would translate into actual social interactions."

Details of these findings are published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.