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Sleep disorders in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: Comparative actigraphy and questionnaire assessment in

Sara Pinghini1, Lucio Giordano1, Francesca Banditelli2

  • 1Regional Epilepsy Center, Operative Unit of Childhood and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy.

Sleep Medicine
|September 10, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) experience significant sleep disturbances. Actigraphy is a reliable tool for assessment, but combining it with subjective measures is crucial for accurate sleep evaluation in pediatric NDD.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research
  • Biomedical Data Analysis

Background:

  • Sleep disturbances are common in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).
  • Objective and subjective sleep measures are often studied separately in this population.
  • Understanding sleep patterns in ADHD and ASD is critical for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate sleep patterns and hygiene in children with ADHD and ASD versus typically developing (TD) controls.
  • To compare objective (actigraphy) and subjective (questionnaire) sleep measures.
  • To assess the clinical utility of actigraphy in pediatric NDD.

Main Methods:

  • Sixty children with NDD (30 ASD, 30 ADHD) and 40 TD controls underwent 7-night actigraphy.
  • Parents completed the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) and Family Inventory of Sleep Habits (FISH).
  • Data analyzed for sleep parameters, hygiene, and concordance between objective and subjective measures.

Main Results:

  • Actigraphy was well-tolerated in 88% of the NDD group.
  • Children with NDDs exhibited poorer sleep efficiency and longer wake after sleep onset compared to TD controls.
  • Concordance between actigraphy and SDSC was limited (53% in NDD, 15% in TD).

Conclusions:

  • Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in pediatric NDD.
  • Actigraphy is a reliable and well-tolerated tool for assessing sleep in NDD.
  • Multimethod approaches combining actigraphy and questionnaires are recommended for comprehensive sleep evaluation.
Abstract

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