Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder and typical development

Abstract

Although higher sleep problems have been mostly reported in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with typically developing (TD) children, particularly in Western countries, such evidence is relatively scarce in developing countries. We therefore investigated sleep difficulties in Thai children aged 3-16years with ASD compared with age- and gender-matched TD children by using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ)-Thai version. Sixty-five children with ASD (mean age 97.7, SD 44.5months; boys 70.8%) and 65 TD individuals (mean age 98.5, SD 43.5months) were enrolled at a university-based hospital in Bangkok. Background characteristics, sleep duration variables, and the CSHQ were completed by the participants' parents. The CSHQ subscales and total score between children with ASD and TD controls were then compared. Children with ASD were more likely to have longer sleep latency than TD individuals for both weekdays and the weekend. Those with ASD had higher CSHQ subscales including bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, sleep anxiety, and night waking in addition to the CSHQ total scores than TD controls. In the ASD group, those who took psychostimulants for treatment of ADHD had lower scores on the sleep duration subscale compared with unmedicated individuals. Sleep difficulties were more prevalent in children with ASD compared with TD individuals. Parents should be advised to be aware of sleep problems in individuals with ASD. As such, sleep disturbances will be identified early, resulting in appropriate management and improved quality of life, not only for those with ASD but also their families.