Commentary: Thinking outside the box about children's sleep--a commentary on Gregory and Sadeh (2016)

This commentary is intended to supplement the accompanying review of sleep problems in childhood psychiatric disorders by Gregory and Sadeh. A number of considerations are outlined because of their relevance to both clinical practice and research concerning assessment and treatment of sleep disturbance in children in general and especially those with psychiatric and/or neurological conditions. These considerations (which illustrate the importance of combined medical and psychological involvement) are as follows: the importance of screening for sleep disturbance which otherwise may well be overlooked; the need to specify sleep disorders rather than simply nonspecific sleep problems as this will guide choice of appropriate advice and treatment; the risk of sleep disorders being misdiagnosed because of clinicians' unfamiliarity with the sleep disorders field; the possibility that a child's sleep disturbance is of multiple aetiology; a wide range of treatments for disturbed sleep is now described from which a choice is possible given an accurate diagnosis; sleep problems may be intensified if a child's condition is complicated by intellectual disability but the same principles of assessment and management apply as in other children in the expectation that treatment can be effective.