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Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, and typical development: a

Paula Krakowiak1, Beth Goodlin-Jones, Irva Hertz-Picciotto

  • 1Division of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.

Journal of Sleep Research
|May 17, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience more frequent sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep and night waking, compared to typically developing children. Developmental delays (DD) also correlate with sleep issues.

Area of Science:

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Sleep disturbances are common in children, but their prevalence and characteristics may differ across neurodevelopmental conditions.
  • Understanding sleep patterns in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for early intervention and improving quality of life for affected children and their families.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare parent-reported sleep characteristics in young children (2-5 years) with ASD to those with other developmental delays (DD) and typical development (TD).
  • To identify specific sleep problems, such as sleep onset difficulties and night waking, in these groups.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study involving 529 children (303 ASD, 63 DD, 163 TD) aged 3.6 years on average.
  • ASD diagnosis confirmed using Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedules (ADOS).
  • Sleep history data analyzed using exploratory factor analysis to identify distinct sleep problem factors.

Main Results:

  • Children with ASD reported the highest prevalence of frequent sleep problems (53%), followed by children with DD (46%) and TD children (32%).
  • Children with ASD exhibited significantly higher scores for night waking and marginally higher scores for sleep onset problems compared to TD children.
  • Children with DD had intermediate sleep problem scores between the ASD and TD groups.

Conclusions:

  • Young children with ASD experience a higher burden of sleep problems, particularly night waking, compared to typically developing peers.
  • Developmental delays are also associated with increased sleep difficulties, suggesting a link between neurodevelopment and sleep regulation.
  • Cognitive or adaptive functioning did not appear to influence the severity of sleep problems within the ASD group.

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