An Investigation on Sleep Disturbance of Autistic Children

Abstract

For the purpose of clarifying the pathophysiological meaning of sleep disturbance in autistic children, the sleep pattern of 75 such children was examined by a questionnaire method. Forty‐nine of them showed sleep disturbance in their early life with an incidence of 65%. The poorly‐developed group showed a high rate of sleep disturbance as compared with the relatively well‐developed group. There was a negative correlation between the developmental level and duration period of sleep disturbance. The investigation of circumstances in which autistic children often exhibited sleep disturbance proved that abrupt changes in life environment or various problems in the way of bringing up children brought about their sleep disturbance. These findings suggest that sleep disturbance might be one of the main symptoms and related to the pathophysiology of infantile autism.

An Investigation of Sleep Characteristics, EEG Abnormalities and Epilepsy in Developmentally Regressed and Non-regressed Children with Autism

“…Occurrence of sleep disorders has been considered to be relatively specific to children with autism compared to both typically developing children and children with intellectual disabilities without autism (Richdale and Prior 1995). The main manifestations are irregularity in sleep/wake pattern, sleep onset problems, frequent and prolonged night-time awakenings or early morning awakenings, period of drastically reduced sleep and poor sleep routines (Hoshino et al 1984;Wiggs and Stores 2004;Williams et al 2004). Even though some sleep disorders might be behavioural in origin (as in the typically developing children with poor sleep hygiene), circadian rhythm disturbances have frequently been reported in children with autism (Patzold et al 1998;Wiggs and Stores 2004).…”

An investigation of comorbid psychological disorders, sleep problems, gastrointestinal symptoms and epilepsy in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Relationships have been found between sleep problems in children with ASD and increased rates of overactivity (Hoshino, Watanabe, Yashima, Kaneko & Kumashiro, 1984), disruptive behavior (Patzold, Richdale & Tonge, 1998), communication difficulties (Segawa, Katoh, Katoh & Nomura, 1992), social difficulties (Segawa et al, 1992) and difficulties with breaking routines (Segawa et al, 1992) (as cited in Schreck, Mulick & Smith, 2004). Schreck et al (2004) found that fewer hours of sleep per night predicted overall autism severity scores and social skills deficits.…”

The Relationship Between Sleep Problems and Daytime Behavior in Children of Different Ages With Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…[2][3][4] Sleep-onset and maintenance insomnia are the primary sleep problems reported by parents of children with ASDs. [4][5][6] Additionally, children with ASDs experience irregular sleep-wake patterns, early morning awakenings, and poor sleep routines.…”