Pat Matthews, who is also the executive director of the Irish Society for Autism, said that the study by researchers from Cornell University, New York . . . shown to him by the Sunday Tribune. . . would take "time to digest" .

"It's the first time we've really heard that a connection is being alluded to between watching television in relation to autism, " he said.

The study, Does Television Cause Autism? by Professor Michael Waldman and Sean Nicholson, was published last month and examined Western states in America. It concluded that the more time toddlers and under-threes spent watching television, the more likely they were to present with symptoms of autistic behaviour. Thirty years ago, the rate of autism was one in 2,500 children. Today, that rate is one in 166 children.

"Because of the epidemic, people are trying to find a cause, " Matthews told Sunday Tribune. "There have to be environmental factors at work." The Cornell study found that autism rates rose more rapidly in areas where more homes had cable television and also in areas with higher rainfall levels, indicating climates where children would spend more of their leisure time indoors.

Kevin Whelan, the chief executive of Irish Autism Action, said that his organisation would also be examining the document carefully.

"Any review and opinion Autism Action would take would be handled in a very sensitive manner and take account of families living with autism at the moment, " he said.

The Cornell report was published in advance of the recent World Autism Conference in South Africa.