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Sleep Issues Caused by Asperger Syndrome

Published by Brian Yalung November 19th, 2007 in Health Issues, SLEEP News, SLEEP Psychology, Sleep Disorders.

Sleep is something important and this covers all people of any race. While we all know of the growing concern for this issue, some are tied up with actual problems going on around kids. One is that of Asperger Syndrome, a known autism spectral disorder.

While we see autistic children differently, they are still human and experience the same problems we normally encounter. Just like us, they have their own share of sleep deprivation problems, probably worse if they are not given the same attention that we put for normal people with sleep issues.

Asperger Syndrome (AS) is one of several autism spectrum disorders characterized by difficulties in social interaction and by restricted interests and activities. With AS, there is no general delay in language or cognitive development. Researchers from Italy looked at sleep and children with AS. It is the first known study of its kind.
For the study, researchers focused on eight children with AS, 10 children with autism and 12 healthy children. Parents filled out several questionnaires and the children underwent several sleep tests.
Researchers report 50 percent of children with AS were reluctant to go to bed, 75 percent needed the television or a light on in the bedroom, 87 percent had difficulty getting to sleep and 75 percent fell asleep sweating. Study authors also found half of the children did not feel refreshed in the morning and 87 percent had difficulty waking up in the morning and 87 percent felt sleepy during the day.

Source: Sleep Problems Prevalent in Children with Asperger Syndrome