A bibliometric and visualized analysis of sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Sleep-in-autism research has exploded since 2011, and the next big wins are exercise-first plans, function-based ABA, and tighter screen rules.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kılıçaslan et al. (2025) mapped every sleep-and-autism paper they could find. They used math tools to count who published what, where, and when. The map runs from the first papers up to 2025.
What they found
After 2011 the number of studies shot up like a rocket. The United States leads the world in output. Hot new words are “intervention,” “melatonin,” “circadian,” and “screen time.”
How this fits with other research
Sirao et al. (2026) asked which sleep fix works best. They found exercise beats melatonin and pills. Fethiye’s map shows exercise papers are still rare, so Li’s finding is a fresh gap to fill.
Carter Leno et al. (2021) warned that up to 86 % of kids with autism have sleep trouble. Fethiye’s map proves researchers finally listened—paper count exploded right after that review.
McLay et al. (2021) showed 41 kids slept better after parents used ABA plans. Fethiye labels “behavioral intervention” a hot topic, so the case series sits in the growth zone.
Whaling et al. (2025) found most autistic kids fail sleep-time rules. The map tags “screen time” as a rising keyword, matching M’s call to cut evening screens.
Why it matters
You now know the field is racing toward exercise, melatonin, and ABA sleep plans. Start by adding a 30-minute after-school movement break before you trial melatonin. Track bedtime with a simple parent log so your data can join the next wave of studies.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit a significantly higher prevalence of sleep problems compared to their typically developing peers. Despite numerous studies on ASD and sleep, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis on this topic is lacking. This study aims to analyze publications on sleep problems in children with ASD using bibliometric methods. METHODS: Research articles on sleep problems in children with ASD were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database. Between 1984 and 2024, 462 studies by 1896 authors were published in 164 journals. We used bibliometrics to analyze papers on sleep problems in children with ASD, to draw the network of authors, countries, journals, and keywords in this field, and to visualize the results. RESULTS: The number of publications examining sleep problems in children with ASD has increased since 2011. The highest number of published studies is in 2021. The leading country in research is the USA, and the most productive author in this field is Malow B. In recent years, burst keywords were intervention, circadian rhythm, screen time, and melatonin. CONCLUSION: Increased attention has been paid to sleep in children with ASD. It is believed that this bibliometric analysis can help determine the gap in the field of sleep in children with ASD and help new studies to be conducted.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.104943