A Practice Pathway for the Treatment of Night Wakings in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Autism Dev Disord. 2023 Jun 26. doi: 10.1007/s10803-023-06026-2. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report high rates of sleep problems. In 2012, the Autism Treatment Network/ Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (ATN/AIR-P) Sleep Committee developed a pathway to address these concerns. Since its publication, ATN/AIR-P clinicians and parents have identified night wakings as a refractory problem unaddressed by the pathway. We reviewed the existing literature and identified 76 scholarly articles that provided data on night waking in children with ASD. Based on the available literature, we propose an updated practice pathway to identify and treat night wakings in children with ASD.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Night wakings; Sleep initiation; Sleep maintenance; Sleep problems; Treatment for insomnia.