Insomnia and Autism How and Why ?

Why is the assessment of sleep important in children with autism?

Assessment of Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Makeda Moore, Victoria Evans, Grace Hanvey, and Cynthia Johnson*

Paul R. Carney, Academic Editor and James D. Geyer, Academic Editor

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The importance of properly assessing children with ASD for sleep disorders cannot be overstated, as inadequate sleep can have detrimental effects on memory, attention, cognition, daytime behavior, and even language acquisition [43,44,45,46,47].

 Additional reports suggest that chronic sleep disturbance increases the risk of physical health problems, including changes in cardiovascular, immune, endocrine, nervous system function, and, for children with ASD in particular, increased weight status and poorer overall health-related quality of life [48,49,50,51]. 

Furthermore, chronic sleep disturbances experienced by children with ASD are less likely to remit with age, and continue even into adulthood [52,53,54]. T

herefore, early identification and intervention may help to offset some of the potentially detrimental effects that may occur secondary to prolonged sleep inadequacy.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575594/