A Telethon Kids Institute researcher whose PhD studies highlighted the link between screen time exposure and toddlers’ language development has been named a finalist in South Australia’s Science Excellence and Innovation Awards.
Run by the South Australian Department of State Development, the Awards are the State’s premier science showcase event, highlighting the critical importance of science, research and innovation to the development of industry and society as a whole.
Early childhood researcher Dr Mary Brushe, who is based at Telethon Kids Adelaide, has been named one of three finalists in the PhD Research Excellence category for her publications, collaborations and leadership contributions throughout her PhD with the University of Adelaide.
One of her papers, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics in March this year, achieved global attention when it revealed that screen time was replacing vital language opportunities for Australian toddlers.
The first-of-its kind study, which used Fitbit-like devices to measure the amount of electronic noise and parent-child talk surrounding children aged 1-3 years, found that for every minute of screen time they were exposed to at home, toddlers heard fewer adult words, made fewer vocalisations, and engaged in fewer back-and-forth conversations with their parents.
Other research published by Dr Brushe throughout her PhD investigated how many words Australian children hear in their first year of life and identified the ‘education word gap’ that emerges by 18 months of age.
Her work informed the National Early Language and Literacy Strategy, published in 2021, and was used in a submission to the South Australian Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care in 2023, highlighting the socioeconomic disparities in early language exposure among Australian children.
Dr Brushe this year became President of the Public Health Association of Australia’s South Australian branch and is a member of the 0-3 Early Years Taskforce, a group of early childhood experts and stakeholders in SA, led by Raising Literacy Australia, that has informed a public health campaign – Words Grow Minds – to support parent-child interactions during the early years.
The campaign was officially launched by the SA Government in early 2024, with Dr Brushe speaking at a press conference alongside the Premier of South Australia, Minister for Education and the CEO of Raising Literacy.
Winners of the SA Science Excellence and Innovation Awards will be announced at an awards celebration in South Australia on 8 November.