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Six-month sleep-wake organization and stability in preschool-age children with autism, developmental delay, and

Thomas F Anders1, Ana-Maria Iosif, A J Schwichtenberg

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. tfanders@gmail.com

Behavioral Sleep Medicine
|April 15, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Children with autism (AUT) slept less and had fewer night awakenings than typically developing children. Children with developmental delay (DD) had more frequent, longer awakenings than AUT children, with both groups showing greater sleep variability.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • Sleep disturbances are common in neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • Understanding sleep-wake patterns is crucial for early intervention in preschool-aged children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare sleep-wake patterns in preschool children with autism (AUT), developmental delay (DD) without autism, and typically developing (TYP) children.
  • To investigate differences in sleep duration, nighttime awakenings, and sleep variability across groups.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study design with 3 assessment points over 6 months.
  • Objective sleep assessment using actigraphy.
  • Subjective sleep assessment via parent-report diaries.

Main Results:

  • Children with autism (AUT) slept less per 24 hours and had fewer nighttime awakenings than TYP and DD groups.
  • Children with developmental delay (DD) experienced more frequent and longer nighttime awakenings compared to the AUT group.
  • Both AUT and DD groups exhibited greater night-to-night variability in sleep-wake measures than the TYP group.

Conclusions:

  • Preschool children with autism and developmental delay exhibit distinct sleep-wake pattern disturbances.
  • Sleep variability is a key differentiator between neurodevelopmentally disordered and typically developing children.
  • Targeted sleep interventions may be beneficial for children with autism and developmental delay.

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