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Sleep in Children with Asperger Syndrome

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Abstract

The prevalence of sleep disturbances in 52 children with Asperger syndrome (AS) as compared with 61 healthy controls (all subjects aged 5–17 years) was investigated. Problems with sleep onset and maintenance, sleep-related fears, negative attitudes toward sleeping, and daytime somnolence were more frequent among children with AS than among controls. Short sleep duration (<9 h) was almost twofold (59% vs. 32%), and the risk for sleep onset problems more than fivefold (53% vs. 10%) more common in the AS group than in the control group. Child-reported sleeping problems were also more prevalent in the AS group than in controls (58% vs. 7%). The results suggest that sleep disturbances should be routinely evaluated in children with AS.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Foundation for Child Psychiatric Research, the Finnish Sleep Research Society, the Foundation for Pediatric Research, the Finnish Medical Foundation, the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, the Helsinki University Central Hospital Funds (EVO TYH 4217), and the Helsinki University Research Funds (Project 2103035), Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Departments of Child Psychiatry and Neurology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, HUS, University of Helsinki.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child Psychiatry, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki, Lastenlinnantie 2, 00250, Helsinki, Finland

    E. Juulia Paavonen & Eeva T. Aronen

  2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Kimmo Vehkalahti

  3. Department of Child Neurology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Raija Vanhala & Lennart von Wendt

  4. Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Jorvi Hospital, Espoo, Finland

    Taina Nieminen-von Wendt

  5. Medical Centre Dextra, Helsinki, Finland

    Taina Nieminen-von Wendt

Authors
  1. E. Juulia Paavonen
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  2. Kimmo Vehkalahti
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  3. Raija Vanhala
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  4. Lennart von Wendt
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  5. Taina Nieminen-von Wendt
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  6. Eeva T. Aronen
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Correspondence to E. Juulia Paavonen.

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Paavonen, E.J., Vehkalahti, K., Vanhala, R. et al. Sleep in Children with Asperger Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 41–51 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0360-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0360-x

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