Why Do Children with Autism Suffer from Sleep Issues?

Every person has factors that they can change to help improve their quality of life. Helping families to identify what things they can change that could help their child sleep better is crucial. This is not just something that can be highly effective, but is also something that can help a family feel like they have a little more control and power in a situation that may at times seem helpless. Some factors that can improve sleep are decreasing the child’s exposure to light and screens before bedtime, ensuring that they are not hungry, and avoiding activities that may be overstimulating close to bedtime. There are also medications such as antiepileptic drugs and mood stabilizers that can impair sleep quality. While these may be necessary to treat other complexities associated with the patient’s condition, talking with healthcare providers about how these could be modified may reveal alternatives that have less of an impact on sleep quality.