Sleep behaviour in children with developmental co-ordination disorder

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Developmental Psychology
• Sleep Medicine

Background:

• Developmental Co-ordination Disorder (DCD) affects everyday movement skills, academic achievement, and emotional well-being.
• Children with DCD often exhibit higher anxiety rates than typically developing peers.
• Sleep problems are common in other clinical populations, but sleep patterns in DCD are underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare the sleep behaviors of children diagnosed with DCD against a control group of typically developing children.
• To identify specific sleep disturbances associated with DCD.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 16 boys aged 8-12 with DCD (Movement ABC-2 Checklist scores <5th percentile) was compared to 16 age-matched typically developing controls (scores >15th percentile).
• Parental completion of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire was used to assess sleep patterns in both groups.

Main Results:

• Children with DCD exhibited significantly higher overall sleep disturbance scores compared to controls.
• Specific issues identified in the DCD group included greater bedtime resistance, more frequent parasomnias, and increased daytime sleepiness.
• No significant group differences were found in sleep onset delay, sleep duration, night wakings, or sleep-disordered breathing.

Conclusions:

• Sleep patterns in children with DCD appear to be clinically significant and warrant further research.
• Identifying sleep problems early in children with DCD can facilitate timely and appropriate clinical support.