SLEEP 2026 | Understanding and diagnosing sleep problems in children with autism

Kids with autism and other developmental conditions have a lot of things going on. And part of it, I like to think about different buckets. So I think about the biological bucket, and that is the overarousal, the increased connectivity in the brain, that idea that your brain is always on and you have trouble quieting it and calming it. They may also have some genetic problems. They may have problems processing melatonin. So that’s what I call biological. And then medical, there’s a variety of medical conditions that kids with autism and other developmental conditions can have, including sleep apnea, seizures, GI reflux, all sorts of medical conditions that can impact sleep. And then the final category is the behavioral. The idea that you have not knowing when it’s time to go to bed, not understanding the bedtime routine, not doing well with transitions, all of that can be incredibly disabling. So understanding the cause is really important because that influences the treatment. The most important thing in diagnosing sleep problems and autism is to take a good history. A lot can be gleaned just from talking with the parent, talking with the child if they’re old enough, figuring out what’s going on. When is bedtime? How long has it taken them to fall asleep? Are they waking up? What might be waking them up? Do they snore? Do they have seizures? All those things are really, really important. Is there a bedtime routine that’s in place to kind of calm the child? All those things can be very impactful and can help you identify an area to work on.

This transcript is AI-generated. While we strive for accuracy, please verify this copy with the video.