Asperger's Syndrome Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Asperger's Syndrome, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, medication.

Sleep Patterns of School-Age Children with Asperger Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism.

Allik H, Larsson JO, Smedje H

Department of Woman and Child Health, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, Q3:O4, Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, S-171 76 , Stockholm, Sweden, hiie.allik@ki.se.

Sleep patterns of 32 school-age children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism (HFA) were compared to those of 32 typically developing age- and gender-matched children, using parent survey and one week of diary and actigraphic monitoring. Parents of children with AS/HFA more commonly reported that their children had difficulty falling asleep. One week of sleep recording with diary and actigraphy confirmed that children in the AS/HFA group spent a longer time awake in bed before falling asleep than children in the control group, possibly because the children in the AS/HFA group had earlier bedtimes. Other essential aspects of sleep patterns coincided between the groups. The sleep patterns of children with AS and HFA did not differ.

Published 9 August 2006 in J Autism Dev Disord, 36(5): 585-595.
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