Parental report of sleep problems in Down syndrome.
Eight in ten kids with Down syndrome have clinical-level sleep problems, so screen every child and treat early.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Siu et al. (2011) asked 35 parents of kids with Down syndrome to fill out the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire. The kids were 4-18 years old. The survey covers bedtime, sleep time, night wakings, morning wake, and daytime sleepiness.
What they found
Eighty-five percent of the children scored above the clinical cut-off for sleep problems. Trouble showed up in every area: bedtime resistance, long sleep onset, night wakings, breathing symptoms, and daytime sleepiness.
How this fits with other research
Kniola et al. (2026) saw the same 85 % rate, but in autistic girls. Both studies used parent surveys and the same cut-off, so the number is a direct match.
Nevin et al. (2005) found lower rates in autism/Asperger’s (73 %) and typical kids (50 %). The higher Down-syndrome figure suggests this group needs extra sleep screening.
Leader et al. (2021) linked sleep problems to poorer quality of life in adults with ASD. The new data say you should check sleep early in Down syndrome, before adult years.
Why it matters
If you serve kids with Down syndrome, add one sleep question to every intake and review. Ask about bedtime fights, snoring, and night wakings. When parents say yes to two or more, refer for a sleep study or behavioral sleep plan. Fixing sleep can cut daytime problem behavior and boost learning readiness.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with Down syndrome (DS) suffer from sleep problems, including sleep maintenance problems, as well as snoring, and other symptoms of disordered breathing. To examine sleep in DS, we gave parents a questionnaire assessing their child's sleep. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The parents of 35 children with DS (mean age = 12.65 years, range = 7-18 years) completed the 33-item Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire. RESULTS: Eighty-five per cent of our sample had sleep disturbance scores in the clinical range (mean = 48.63, SD = 7.15, range = 34-64). Our sample also had significantly elevated scores on the Bedtime Resistance, Sleep Anxiety, Night Wakings, Parasomnias, Sleep Disordered Breathing and Daytime Sleepiness subscales. CONCLUSIONS: Children with DS are at risk for developing symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, and may have additional sleep problems that are unrelated to sleep disordered breathing.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2011 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2011.01435.x