PARENTAL REPORT OF SLEEP PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN WITH ATTENTIONAL AND LEARNING-DISORDERS

This study examined whether parents of children diagnosed with neurode velopmental disorders (n = 79) report greater sleep-related problems i n their offspring than do parents of normal community-based children ( n = 86) on a research questionnaire developed to assess sleep and brea thing problems, sleepiness, and behavioral problems. Clinical subgroup s included: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (n = 43), learning disabilities (LD) (n = 11), and combined ADHD/LD (n = 25). An alyses revealed that parents of children with neurodevelopmental disor ders report greater problems along all three dimensions than parents o f normal control children. Sleep-related difficulties were reported at the same frequency across all three clinical subgroups. No significan t difference between clinical and control groups was noted, however, i n the reported length of sleep on weeknights. These preliminary findin gs suggest that sleep-related problems need to be routinely reviewed a s part of the clinical evaluation of neurodevelopmental problems, beca use they may contribute to and/or exacerbate the behavioral manifestat ion of these disorders.