Sleep disorders in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders

Abstract

High rates of sleep disturbance have been consistently reported in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Increased vulnerability is likely due to a range of physiological, genetic and psychosocial risk factors, the relative importance of which might differ due to multiple factors including the individual's clinical condition. The presence of sleep disturbance has been associated with daytime cognitive-behavioural dysfunction, and the stressful effect of sleep disturbance on other members of the family should not be underestimated. Resolution of sleep disturbance is often followed by an amelioration of these individual and family difficulties, emphasising the importance of addressing sleep disturbance as part of overall care. This session will (1) provide an orienting overview of normal sleep, common ways in which it can be disturbed and the impact of impaired sleep on the child and family and (2) emphasise approaches to the assessment and management of sleep difficulties, including physiological and psychological assessment and contemporary pharmacological and non-pharmacological management. Attention will be drawn to where an understanding of individual behavioural phenotypes could play a role in the recognition, assessment and management of sleep difficulties. Although not without limitations, existing research suggests that there is a range of therapeutic options for the management of sleep difficulties, choice of which should be driven by careful assessment of sleep with a view to diagnosing the underlying sleep disorder. Whilst the general approach to sleep disorders may be similar for children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders, special considerations need to be emphasised for the latter group, including the individual's behavioural phenotype. Examples of how sleep medicine can be tailored will be provided, along with discussion of how best to further refine such an approach to optimise outcomes for children and their families.L6225172772018-06-14 <br />