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[Sleep disorders in visually handicapped children in infancy and preschool age]
H Tröster1, M Brambring, J van der Burg
1Fakultät für Psychologie und Sportwissenschaft, Universität Bielefeld, Abteilung für Psychologie.
Insights
Visually impaired children, especially blind children, experience more sleep disorders like night waking and settling difficulties compared to sighted children. Daily routines and bedtime activities significantly impact these sleep issues.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Developmental Psychology
- Ophthalmology
Context:
- Sleep disorders are common in children, but prevalence varies among those with visual impairments.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for targeted interventions and support.
Purpose:
- To investigate the frequency and nature of sleep disorders in visually impaired children compared to non-disabled peers.
- To identify factors associated with sleep disturbances in this population.
Summary:
- A parent questionnaire assessed sleep disorders in 265 visually impaired and 67 non-disabled children (10-72 months).
- Multiply handicapped blind children, blind children without additional impairments, and multiply handicapped partially sighted children showed higher rates of sleep difficulties (settling, night waking) than non-disabled controls.
- Partially sighted children without other impairments did not differ from controls.
- Blind children, regardless of additional handicaps, had more sleep disorders than partially sighted children.
- Sleep disorders correlated with regularity of daily routines, evening activities, and sleeping habits.
Impact:
- Highlights increased sleep disorder prevalence in blind children, informing clinical practice and parental guidance.
- Suggests that visual impairment severity and additional handicaps are key factors in sleep disturbances.
- Emphasizes the role of routine and pre-sleep activities in managing sleep issues for visually impaired children.
Abstract:
A parents' questionnaire was used to assess sleep disorders (night waking, settling difficulties) in 265 visually impaired and 67 nondisabled 10- to 72-month-olds. Results showed that multiply handicapped blind children (n = 57), blind children with no additional impairments (n = 56) and multiply handicapped partially sighted children (n = 71) more frequently had difficulties in getting to sleep (more than once a week) and in sleeping through the night (night waking more than once per week and taking more than 5-10 minutes to get back to sleep) than nonhandicapped children, whereas the frequency of sleep disorders (night waking, settling difficulties) in partially sighted children with no additional neurological or physical impairments (n = 81) did not differ from that of nonhandicapped controls. Blind children, whether they were multiply handicapped or not, exhibited sleep disorders more frequently than partially sighted children. The results indicated relationships between sleep disorders and the regularity of children's daily routines, the activities in the evening before going to bed, and the children's sleeping habits.