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The Pediatric Sleep Clinical Global Impressions Scale-A New Tool to Measure Pediatric Insomnia in Autism Spectrum

Beth A Malow1, Heidi V Connolly, Shelly K Weiss

  • 1*Sleep Disorders Division, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN; †Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY; ‡Department of Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON; §Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO; ‖Biostatistics Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics : JDBP
|June 1, 2016
PubMed

Insights

A new clinician-rated scale shows promise for assessing pediatric insomnia in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This tool complements objective and parent-reported measures, offering valuable insights into sleep difficulties.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Research
  • Clinical Outcome Measurement

Background:

  • Insomnia is a common challenge for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), impacting their development and family life.
  • Existing assessment tools for pediatric insomnia include objective measures and parent-based questionnaires, but a clinician-centered perspective is also valuable.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To pilot a novel clinician-based outcome measure for evaluating insomnia in children with ASD.
  • To assess if the new measure provides information complementary to existing objective and parent-reported assessments.

Main Methods:

  • Development and refinement of the Pediatric Sleep Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI) with expert input.
  • Pilot testing of the Pediatric Sleep CGI in a 12-week randomized trial involving children with ASD, utilizing clinician assessments, parent questionnaires (CSHQ), and actigraphy.

Main Results:

  • The Pediatric Sleep CGI demonstrated significant correlations with parent-reported sleep onset delay and night wakings.
  • Clinician-rated sleep onset delay scores correlated well with objective actigraphy data.
  • The overall clinician-rated scale indicated improvement in sleep with the intervention.

Conclusions:

  • The Pediatric Sleep CGI shows potential as a reliable tool for measuring clinician-rated outcomes in pediatric insomnia among children with ASD.
  • Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm its reliability, validity, and applicability to diverse pediatric insomnia populations.
Abstract

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