Sleep-wake characteristics of children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) : a survey study

A higher prevalence of sleep problems and a few specific sleep-wake characteristics have been preliminarily found to be associated with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). However, there is limited research that has examined multiple variables associated with sleep-wake characteristics and problems of children with PDD. This dissertation study assessed and examined the sleep-wake characteristics, sleep problems, and daytime problem behaviors of children with PDD aged three to fifteen years, and their caregivers’ sleep as well as contextual variables using data from the primary caregivers’ reports and recordings. This study confirmed several findings in the literature related to sleep-wake characteristics and sleep problems in children with both PDD and sleep problems. Although the relationship between sleep and daytime problem behaviors of the children was not found to be statistically correlated, the descriptive data indicated that some conditions such as illness or anxiety of the children negatively impacted their sleep and behaviors. In addition, the children participants with PDD and sleep problems tended to watch TV or to use computer/play video games before bedtime, in comparison to those with PDD but without sleep problems in this study. Moreover, a significant correlation between sleep of the caregivers and of their children was found in the group of children with PDD and sleep problems, but not in the other group of children with PDD but without sleep problems. Lastly, the results of this study showed that the children with diagnoses of PDD were 3.84 times more likely to have sleep problems than those with diagnoses of Asperger’s Disorder (AD) or PDD not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). These findings are discussed in light of the similarities and differences between the current study and previous literature, and with respect to the implications for practice and research in the field of PDD and sleep.