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Eye Tracking Young Children with Autism
09:03

Eye Tracking Young Children with Autism

Published on: March 27, 2012

Sleep in Young Children With Autism, ADHD and Combined Presentations

Eva-Maria Kurz1, Sven Bölte2,3,4, Terje Falck-Ytter1,2

  • 1Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Autism Research : Official Journal of the International Society for Autism Research
|July 25, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Sleep problems are common in autism and ADHD. Early childhood sleep disturbances in neurodivergent individuals appear transdiagnostic, not specific to autism or ADHD diagnoses.

Area of Science:

  • Neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Sleep science
  • Pediatric health

Background:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occur with sleep disturbances.
  • Longitudinal studies suggest persistent sleep issues in neurodivergent individuals throughout development.
  • Early childhood sleep patterns in neurodevelopmental conditions require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare early caregiver-rated sleep trajectories in infants diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or co-occurring autism and ADHD (AuDHD).
  • To contrast sleep patterns of diagnosed individuals with control groups (those with and without elevated likelihood for ASD/ADHD).
  • To identify if early sleep problems are transdiagnostic or diagnosis-specific in neurodevelopmental conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective infant sibling study with 209 participants.
  • Caregiver-reported sleep behaviors (night awakenings, settling duration) assessed at 10, 14, 24, and 36 months.
  • Comparison between diagnosed groups (autism, ADHD, AuDHD) and non-diagnosed control groups.

Main Results:

  • No significant sleep differences were observed at 10 and 14 months between diagnosed and non-diagnosed infants.
  • By 24 and 36 months, diagnosed individuals experienced longer sleep onset latency, reduced sleep sufficiency, increased parasomnias, and greater overall sleep disturbance.
  • Bedtime resistance improved in the autism group between 24 and 36 months.
  • Sleep disturbances appeared transdiagnostic across autism, ADHD, and AuDHD in early childhood.

Conclusions:

  • Early sleep problems in autism and ADHD may represent shared, transdiagnostic processes rather than distinct, diagnosis-specific issues.
  • While sleep issues persist, specific behaviors like bedtime resistance may improve over time in autism.
  • Further research using objective sleep measures is recommended to validate these caregiver-reported findings.

Keywords:
ADHDAuDHDautismsleeptransdiagnostic

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