Sleep Difficulty Linked To Autism

A recent study reveals that children on the autism spectrum with severe sleep difficulties have behavioral regulation difficulties that impair their executive function. The research is based a multi-year study of 217 children on the autism spectrum and suggests that sleep problems come before the manifestation of behavioral regulation issues. The children involved in the research participate in the Pathways in ASD longitudinal study that started in 2005. Parents were first surveyed when their children were ages 2-4 and then again roughly three years later. Researchers assessed the children’s executive functioning four times from ages 7-12 with another survey to parents and teachers.