Brief report: parental descriptions of sleep problems in children with autism, Down syndrome, and Prader-Willi syndrome.
Autistic children show the highest and most unique sleep problems among developmental disabilities.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Parents of the children filled out a short sleep survey.
Kids had autism, Down syndrome, Prader-Willi, or were typically developing.
Parents checked boxes for bedtime battles, night waking, snoring, and daytime sleepiness.
What they found
Every disability group had at least four times more sleep trouble than typical kids.
Autism stood out with the worst bedtime settling and co-sleeping problems.
Prader-Willi kids were the sleepiest during the day.
How this fits with other research
Carter Leno et al. (2021) later pulled this survey into a big review. They say up to 86 % of autistic kids have sleep issues, matching the high numbers here.
Anthony et al. (2020) followed kids with Down syndrome and showed more snoring and shorter sleep predicted worse behavior scores. This builds on the 2006 finding that Down kids have more sleep problems.
Whaling et al. (2025) used a national US survey and found autistic 3- to young learners were less likely to meet sleep guidelines. This extends the 2006 gap from "more problems" to "not meeting health targets.
Wang et al. (2022) went further in the lab. They showed poor sleep in autistic preschoolers made core symptoms worse through odd eye-gaze patterns. This turns the 2006 description into a cause-and-effect story.
Why it matters
If you work with autistic clients, expect bedtime battles and co-sleeping to top the list. Screen sleep first when daytime behavior spikes. A simple parent checklist like the one used here takes five minutes and guides your next steps.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with an intellectual disability (ID) are at high risk of developing sleep problems. The extent to which the prevalence and nature of sleep problems in these children is dependent on the disorder underlying their intellectual impairments remains unclear. This study examined and compared parental descriptions of sleep problems in children with autism (n = 37), Down syndrome (DS; n = 15), Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS; n = 29), presumed familial intellectual disability (FID; n = 29), and typically developing children (TD; n = 55) in order to determine any influences of disorder on sleep patterns. The prevalence of sleep problems in the disability groups was at least four times higher than for TD children. Sleep problems were more prevalent in autism than the other disorders. Settling difficulties and co-sleeping were more common in the children with autism, whereas sleep maintenance problems were common in autism, DS, and FID, and daytime napping and excessive daytime sleepiness differentiated the children with PWS. These findings are discussed in light of the specific disorders, and with respect to the impact that sleep problems can have on the child and his/her family.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2006 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2004.12.003