Parental and self-report of sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Objective: To determine the prevalence of parent reported and self-reported sleep disturbances in a sample of school-aged children with attention-defi cit/hyperactivity disorder (ADI-LD). Design: Cross-sectional survey questionnaire. Setting: A multidisciplinary ADHD evaluation clinic in a children's teachin g hospital (ADHD sample) and 3 elementary schools in southern New England ( control sample). Participants: Forty-six unmedicated, school-aged children (mean age, 89.4+/ -18.7 months; 74% male) diagnosed as having ADHD by Diagnostic and Statisti cal Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria who had been scree ned for marked symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, and 46 normal contro l children (mean age, 86.5+/-16.9 months; 70% male). Intervention: None. Main Outcome Measure: Sleep habits and sleep disturbances reported by paren ts and children. Results: Children with ADHD had significantly higher (more sleep-disturbed) scores on all sleep subscales of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (parent measure) than did controls; average sleep duration as reported by parents was also significantly shorter in the ADHD group. Children with ADH D also reported their own sleep to be more disturbed than controls did on t he Sleep Self-report, particularly on items relating to bedtime struggles ( P range, .05-.001). There was a much higher correlation between parent and child sleep report items for the children with ADHD (mean correlation, 0.55 ) than for the control children. Conclusions: Sleep disturbances, particularly at bedtime, are frequently re ported by both parents and children with ADHD. Children undergoing evaluati on for ADHD should be routinely screened for sleep disturbances, especially symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing. The causes of sleep-onset delay in children with ADHD should be considered in designing intervention strategi es for children with difficulty falling and staying asleep.