Collateral Child and Parent Effects of Function‑Based Behavioral Interventions for Sleep Problems in Children and Adolescents with Autism.

This study follows McLay et al., Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, (2020) to investigate whether the function-based behavioral sleep interventions received by 41 children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) produced collateral improvements in ASD severity, internalizing and externalizing symptoms and parent relationship quality, ratings of depression, anxiety and stress, and personal sleep quality. Concomitant with reduced sleep problem severity, improvements were found in children's internalizing and externalizing behavior and ASD symptom severity.

Sleep and stereotypy in children with autism: effectiveness of function-based behavioral treatment.

Objectives: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high rates of sleep problems, which exacerbate the core symptoms of ASD, including stereotypy (restricted and repetitive behaviors). Conversely, stereotypy can interfere with sleep by actively competing with sleep-facilitative behaviors (eg, lying down quietly). Behavioral interventions informed by functional behavioral assessment (FBA) significantly reduce sleep problems in children with ASD, however, their impact on sleep-interfering stereotypy is not clear.

Empirical research evaluating the effects of non-traditional approaches to enhancing sleep in typical and clinical children and young people.

This paper examines the effects of non-traditional (non-behavioural and non-prescription pharmaceutical) approaches to sleep in children and young people (0-18 y). A systematic search identified 79 studies that met inclusion criteria. Seventeen percent of the studies were rated as having a conclusive level of evidence, forty-two percent with preponderant evidence and forty-one percent with only suggestive evidence.