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Collateral Child and Parent Effects of Function‑Based Behavioral Interventions for Sleep Problems in Children and

Laurie L McLay1, Karyn G France2, Neville M Blampied3

  • 1School of Health Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. laurie.mclay@canterbury.ac.nz.

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|June 10, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Behavioral sleep interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improved sleep, reduced ASD severity, and enhanced behavior. Some benefits extended to parents, though relationship quality saw minimal change.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Background:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often involves sleep disturbances.
  • Behavioral interventions are crucial for managing ASD symptoms.
  • Investigating collateral effects of interventions is important for holistic care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate collateral benefits of function-based behavioral sleep interventions in children and adolescents with ASD.
  • To assess improvements in ASD severity, behavioral symptoms, and parent well-being.

Main Methods:

  • Study followed 41 children and adolescents with ASD.
  • Interventions were function-based and behavioral, targeting sleep problems.
  • Data collected on ASD severity, internalizing/externalizing behaviors, parent stress, and sleep quality.

Main Results:

  • Reduced sleep problem severity was associated with improved internalizing/externalizing behaviors and ASD symptom severity.
  • Maternal sleep quality and parental stress showed small improvements.
  • Parental relationship quality remained largely unchanged post-intervention.

Conclusions:

  • Function-based behavioral sleep interventions yield generally small but positive collateral benefits for children with ASD.
  • These findings highlight the importance of assessing a broad range of outcomes in intervention studies.
  • Further research is needed to understand the extent and mechanisms of collateral effects.

Keywords:
Autism spectrum disorderCollateral effectsSecondary effectsSleepTreatment

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