Acceptability of an online intervention for insomnia in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Stakeholders like the idea of an online insomnia program for kids with NDDs, but only if it includes live coach support and clear rollout steps.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked parents and health-care staff to judge a not-yet-built online sleep program for kids with neurodevelopmental disorders. They ran focus groups and interviews to learn what people liked or feared about the idea.
The team wanted to know if families would use a web tool that teaches parents how to help their child sleep better.
What they found
Parents and pros said the idea was welcome. They liked that it could be used at home and fit busy schedules. Their top worry was how to start it: who would coach them and how long would it take.
People wanted real-time help built into the site, not just videos to watch alone.
How this fits with other research
Heald et al. (2020) already showed that an online sleep program (BNBD) was usable for these families. The new study keeps the same topic but asks about a future tool, not one already built.
Pitchford et al. (2019) compared online parent coaching to face-to-face classes. Both formats helped kids sleep, but online cut parent fatigue more. The 2023 paper agrees that online is fine if live support is added.
Sadeh et al. (2023) found high parent buy-in for melatonin. The 2023 study mirrors that warmth, but for a behavioral web tool instead of a pill.
Why it matters
You can tell funders and app makers that families want digital sleep help, but they will drop out unless a real person checks in at least once. Build coach chat or brief live calls into any platform you recommend. Start small: pilot one family, note tech glitches, then scale.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a line to your sleep plan: 'Parent will have weekly 10-min video check-in with BCBA while using online sleep modules.'
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Most children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) experience insomnia. Online interventions may provide a way to reduce barriers to treatment access. AIMS: We explored whether parents of children with NDDs and their health care professionals (HCPs) perceived an online insomnia intervention as acceptable and the perceived pros and cons of this intervention delivery method. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Participants included 43 parents of children with NDDs and 44 HCPs who work with children with NDDs. During focus groups/interviews participants shared their perceptions of a hypothetical online insomnia intervention. Responses were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and codes were grouped into pros and cons. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Parents and HCPs reported similar pros and cons. Pros focused on the intervention's accessibility, credibility, usability, usefulness, and design, whereas cons focused on feasibility of implementation. Participants felt that external support (e.g., an online coach) would improve the intervention's acceptability. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Overall, the majority of parents and HCPs perceived an online intervention for insomnia as acceptable but concerns about implementation were noted and need to be taken into account when developing online interventions.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104423