There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Autism is a developmental disability characterized by severe deficits in social interaction
and communication, and the presence of repetitive-ritualistic behaviors. Sleep problems
are frequently reported by parents of children with autism with prevalence estimates
of 44-83% for sleep disorders in this population. To better understand sleep in autism,
we surveyed sleep problems in 210 children with autism using a Likert-based questionnaire
for parent report. The most frequently reported sleep problems included difficulty
in falling asleep, restless sleep, not falling asleep in own bed, and frequent wakenings.
Least frequently reported sleep problems were sleep walking, morning headaches, crying
during sleep, apnea, and nightmares. When surveys were divided into mental retardation
(MR)/not MR categories, no significant differences were identified in frequencies
of reported sleep problems except for waking at night which occurred much more frequently
in the MR group. There was also no difference in sleep problems related to age of
the child other than nocturnal enuresis. An association was noted between certain
medical problems and sleep problems. Vision problems, upper respiratory problems,
and runny nose were associated with decreased nighttime sleep. Vision problems, poor
appetite, and poor growth were associated with increased nighttime waking. Poor appetite
and poor growth were associated with decreased willingness to fall asleep. This study
confirms a high prevalence of sleep problems reported by parents of children with
autism and points to the need for more systematic research as an initial step in developing
treatment strategies.