FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF SLEEPING PROBLEMS WITH DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED-CHILDREN - 6 CASE-STUDIES

Sleeping problems are common among developmentally disabled children o f young age and they may have adverse effects on the well-being of bot h child and parents. In the present study, results from functional ass essment with four children suggested that sleeping problems were reinf orced by parental attention whilst an undiagnosed seizure disorder was associated with nighttime crying with one child. Conditioned anxiety resulted in problems in settling to sleep with a sixth child. Behavior al (i.e., extinction, desensitization) and pharmacological (i.e., anti convulsant) treatment resulted in a substantial reduction in sleeping problems with all children. Follow-up data indicate that effects were maintained. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.