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A sleep habits questionnaire for children with autism spectrum disorders

Beth A Malow1, Crystal Crowe, Lynnette Henderson

  • 1Sleep Disorders Division, Department of Neurology and Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. beth.malow@vanderbilt.edu

Journal of Child Neurology
|January 27, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Poor sleep hygiene is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Family Inventory of Sleep Habits (FISH) is a new, valid tool to measure sleep hygiene in children with ASD and typically developing children.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Sleep difficulties are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
  • Poor sleep hygiene is a significant contributing factor to these sleep disturbances.
  • Accurate measurement of sleep hygiene is crucial for intervention development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate the Family Inventory of Sleep Habits (FISH) for assessing sleep hygiene in children.
  • To evaluate the reliability and validity of the FISH in children with ASD and typically developing children.
  • To examine correlations between sleep hygiene, sleep quality, and cognitive measures.

Main Methods:

  • Developed the Family Inventory of Sleep Habits (FISH) to measure sleep hygiene.
  • Assessed validity and reliability in two groups: children aged 4-10 with ASD and typically developing children.
  • Utilized the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III) for correlational analyses.

Main Results:

  • The FISH demonstrated significant negative correlations with total and insomnia subscale scores on the CSHQ in both groups.
  • The PPVT-III showed significant correlation with the FISH total score in the ASD group, but not in the typically developing group.
  • Age and socioeconomic status did not correlate with FISH total scores in either group.

Conclusions:

  • The Family Inventory of Sleep Habits (FISH) is a preliminary, valid, and reliable measure for assessing sleep hygiene in children with autism spectrum disorder.
  • Findings support the use of FISH in clinical and research settings for children with ASD.
  • Further research is warranted to explore the application of FISH in diverse pediatric populations.

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