A descriptive analysis of sleep behaviour in children with Fragile X

Abstract

The current paper reports on the sleep of 13 children aged 3–19 years with Fragile X (FraX). Their parents completed a sleep questionnaire, the Developmental Behaviour Checklist and the Parenting Hassles Scale. The parents of four children (31%) reported a current sleep problem, which had been present for more than 2 years in three cases. A further six children also exhibited various problematic sleep behaviours on the questionnaire. Parental reporting of a sleep problem was associated with more severe child psychopathology and parental stress. The findings suggest that sleep difficulties are relatively common in FraX, are similar to those found in other children with an intellectual disability, may be long term, and are related to clinically significant behavioural difficulties and parental stress. It is concluded that the parents' perceptions of problematic sleep and the impact on daytime behaviour and parental stress are important considerations for future research and clinical intervention.