Sleep problems in primary school children: comparison between mainstream and special school children

This paper reports on a study of the prevalence and social correlates of dy ssomnias, features associated with obstructive sleep apnoea, and parasomnia s in primary school children aged 4-12. Head teachers of schools selected r andomly from lists of local primary and special schools were contacted by t elephone and asked to distribute a questionnaire package to the parents of all pupils aged 4-12 years. In all, 890 parents of children from mainstream schools and 300 from special schools were approached. The response rates w ere 64.7% and 60%, respectively. The results showed that significantly high er proportions of children in special schools than in mainstream schools pr esented four of the five dyssomnias investigated and all of the features as sociated with obstructive sleep apnoea. In contrast, only two of the seven parasomnias were presented by higher proportions of the children in special schools. Age and gender differences for the two groups of children are pre sented. Finally, multiple correlations were computed between a range of chi ld, family, and environmental characteristics and the three problems most f requently reported: frequency of settling problems; sleeping in the parents ' bed; and night waking. The findings are discussed with reference to other studies of children's sleep problems, and the implications for treatment a re considered.