Sleep refreshes and restores us. However, when sleep is disrupted it can result in behavioral as well as physical problems that can seriously impact the ability of a child to perform optimally in school. This talk will provide participants with an overview of sleep and the problems that are associated with it. The highlights will include a number of the more common disturbances of sleep such as bedtime difficulties, night waking, circadian rhythm disorders and sleep terrors, and recent work on the nonmedical treatments for these problems. Described will be our work with children who have autism spectrum disorder who pose unique challenges and who exhibit a higher prevalence of sleep problems compared to the general population.
Review V. Mark Durand’s biographical statement.