Symposia
Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders
Cynthia R. Johnson, Ph.D.
Cleveland Clinic & Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
The prevalence of sleep problems in the general pediatric population is estimated at 25%. By contrast, poorly regulated sleep patterns (trouble falling asleep, mid-sleep awakening and early morning awakening) affect as many as 80% of children with ASD regardless of cognitive functioning level. Although severity of sleep dysregulation in children with ASD varies from mild to severe, children with moderate or greater sleep problems require treatment to avert the associated adverse effects of inadequate sleep. In an earlier trial funded by NIH, we developed and then tested a manualized behaviorally-based parent training program. After development, in a randomized trial, we compared this session sleep parent training program to a control group who were provided non-sleep related education. In this preliminary trial, the parent training group improved significantly more on than the comparison group on the primary sleep outcome (Johnson, Turner, Foldes, Brooks, Kronk, & Wiggs, 2013).
Building on this earlier work, we are near completing a larger randomized clinical trial of the sleep parent training program which was adapted for telehealth delivery. The telehealth delivery not only allows for enrollment of families who are at any distance, but also to provide parent training closer to bedtime and to provide virtual coaching around bedtime. This 4 year federally-funded study was initiated prior to COVID-19 pandemic, but was able to continue during the health crisis. Data suggest high treatment fidelity and parental adherence (over 90%) and parent satisfaction is high (88-94%). We will compare our primary findings on this newer trial with the data from the earlier trial. Further, we will provide the qualitative pros and cons of telehealth delivery compared to in-person. Finally, further research directions in the area of sleep and ASD will be discussed.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT03668873
Clinical Trials # NCT03668873