A survey of sleep problems in autism, Asperger's disorder and typically developing children.
Most kids with autism or Asperger’s wrestle with sleep, but behavior plans give the best payoff for autism while medicine helps both groups.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Parents of the children filled out a sleep survey. The kids were split into three groups: autism, Asperger’s, and typically developing.
The survey asked about bedtime battles, night waking, medicine use, and what treatments helped.
What they found
Seven in ten kids with autism or Asperger’s had big sleep problems. Only half of the typical kids did.
Medicine helped both clinical groups fall asleep. Yet parents said behavior tricks worked better only for the autism group, not the Asperger’s group.
How this fits with other research
Kniola et al. (2026) zoomed in on girls and extended the picture: 85 % of autistic girls have sleep trouble versus 66 % of autistic boys.
Leader et al. (2021) moved the lens to adults and showed sleep pain continues: grown-ups with autism still report poor rest that drags down quality of life.
Lushington et al. (2022) looked at sleep talking instead of general problems. They warn that small quirks alone rarely hurt mental health—always check for bigger sleep issues first.
Together the four papers draw a life-span arc: sleep problems start in childhood, hit girls hardest, last into adulthood, and need full screening beyond odd noises.
Why it matters
If you serve autistic clients, plan to treat sleep in most of them. Start with a simple parent questionnaire tonight. Try behavioral plans first for kids with classic autism, but keep melatonin on the table for any client who needs fast relief. Track sex-specific patterns—girls may need extra help with bedtime anxiety.
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Hand the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire to every autism parent and graph bedtime resistance plus night waking this week.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Sleep problems are common in typically developing (TD) children and in children with autism, however, less is known about the sleep of children with Asperger's disorder (AD). The aim of this study was to compare sleep patterns of children with autism and AD to a TD group of children. METHODS: Sixty-six parents of TD children, 53 parents of children with autism, and 52 parents of children with AD completed a survey on their child's sleep patterns, the nature and severity of any sleep problems and success of any treatment attempted. RESULTS: The results showed high prevalence of sleep problems with significantly more problems reported in the autism and AD groups (TD = 50%, autism = 73%, AD = 73%), with no significant differences between groups on severity or type of sleep problem. Children with AD were significantly more likely to be sluggish and disoriented after waking and had a higher Behavioral Evaluation of Disorders of Sleep (BEDS) total score compared to the other two groups. The autism and AD groups reported significantly better treatment success for medication compared to the TD group. The autism group reported significantly better success for behavioural treatment compared to the AD group. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, children with AD may have more symptoms of sleep disturbance, and different types of sleep problems than children with autism. As this is the first study to compare autism and AD and to survey treatment outcomes, further research is needed to validate these findings.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2005 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2005.00642.x