Sleep disturbances in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities are common and have a profound effect on the quality of life of the child, as well as the entire family. Although interventions for sleep problems in these children often involve a combination of behavioral and pharmacologic strategies, the first line of treatment is the promotion of improved sleep habits or “hygiene.” Despite the importance of sleep-hygiene principles, defined as basic optimal environmental, scheduling, sleep-practice, and physiologic sleep-promoting factors, clinicians often lack appropriate knowledge and skills to implement them. In addition, sleep-hygiene practices may need to be modified and adapted for this population of children and are often more challenging to implement compared with their healthy counterparts. This first comprehensive, multidisciplinary review of sleep hygiene for children with disabilities presents the rationale for incorporating these measures in their treatment, outlines both general and specific sleep-promotion practices, and discusses problem-solving strategies for implementing them in a variety of clinical practice settings.
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December 2008
Special Articles|
December 01 2008
Sleep Hygiene for Children With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
James E. Jan, MD, FRCP(C);
James E. Jan, MD, FRCP(C)
aChild and Family Research Institute and Divisions of
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Judith A. Owens, MD, MPH;
Judith A. Owens, MD, MPH
bAmbulatory Pediatrics, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island
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Margaret D. Weiss, MD, PhD, FRCP(C);
Margaret D. Weiss, MD, PhD, FRCP(C)
cChild Psychiatry
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Kyle P. Johnson, MD;
Kyle P. Johnson, MD
dDivision of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
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Michael B. Wasdell, MA;
Michael B. Wasdell, MA
eMelatonin Research Group, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Roger D. Freeman, MD, FRCP(C);
Roger D. Freeman, MD, FRCP(C)
fProfessor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
gProfessor Emeritus, Neuropsychiatry Clinic, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Osman S. Ipsiroglu, MD, MBA, MAS
Osman S. Ipsiroglu, MD, MBA, MAS
hDevelopmental Pediatrics, University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
iUniversity of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Address correspondence to James E. Jan, MD, FRCP(C), BC Children's Hospital, Diagnostic Neurophysiology, 4500 Oak St, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6H 3N1. E-mail: jjan@cw.bc.ca
Pediatrics (2008) 122 (6): 1343–1350.
Article history
Accepted:
May 06 2008
Citation
James E. Jan, Judith A. Owens, Margaret D. Weiss, Kyle P. Johnson, Michael B. Wasdell, Roger D. Freeman, Osman S. Ipsiroglu; Sleep Hygiene for Children With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. Pediatrics December 2008; 122 (6): 1343–1350. 10.1542/peds.2007-3308
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