Sleep and daytime functioning: a short-term longitudinal study of three preschool-age comparison groups.
Sleepy preschoolers with autism or ID underperform during the day, and parent-noted sleep problems drive that sleepiness most in kids with ID.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Thomas and colleagues watched preschoolers for a few weeks. They compared kids with autism, kids with intellectual disability, and kids with no diagnosis.
Parents filled out sleep logs and rated daytime sleepiness. Teachers noted how well the children paid attention and played.
What they found
Children with autism or ID were sleepier and performed worse during the day than typical peers. Sleep problems predicted next-day sleepiness only in the ID group.
In short, poor sleep hurt daytime function, but the link was strongest for kids with ID.
How this fits with other research
Pattison et al. (2022) extends these findings. Their RCT showed a behavioral sleep package called Sleeping Sound cuts sleep problems in autistic 5- to 11-year-olds for a full year. It proves fixing sleep can boost daytime life.
Sasson et al. (2022) presents an apparent contradiction. A similar behavioral sleep program helped autistic kids but did nothing extra for children with Down syndrome. The difference likely lies in diagnosis-specific sleep biology or parent factors.
de Jonge et al. (2025) supersedes the target paper. Instead of parent logs, they used EEG brain waves to link resting gamma power to later language and IQ. Objective brain data now refine our picture of how biology shapes daytime skills.
Why it matters
If you serve preschoolers with autism or ID, treat sleep issues early. Screen with brief parent questions, then try the Sleeping Sound steps: dim lights, calm routine, no screens before bed, and praise for staying in bed. Better nights can give you better days for teaching.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined sleep, sleepiness, and daytime performance in 68 children with autism, 57 children with intellectual disability (ID), and 69 typically developing preschool children. Children in the autism and ID groups had poorer daytime performance and behaviors than the typically developing children. Children in the ID group also were significantly sleepier than children in both the autism and typically developing groups. These significant differences persisted over 6 months. Actigraph-defined sleep behaviors and problems did not relate to daytime sleepiness or daytime performance and behaviors for the children with autism or the typically developing group. For the ID group, longer night awakenings and lower sleep efficiency predicted more daytime sleepiness. For each group, parent-report sleep problems were associated with more daytime sleepiness and more behavior problems.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01252.x