Sleep and Children with Cerebral Palsy
CanChild has published another excellent resource which is entitled Keeping Current In Sleep Issues Among Children with Cerebral Palsy. Here are some highlights:
- Studies show that rates of sleep disturbances in children with cerebral palsy are actually quite similar to the general population and affect about one third of children.
- Certain aspects of CP are more frequently associated with sleep disorders, including active epilepsy, severe movement problems and level of spasticity, and intellectual disabilities.
Sleep issues in cerebral palsy can be divided into seven general areas:
- breathing disturbances
- movement impairments
- sleep wake cycles
- epilepsy
- sleep pattern impairments
- psychological factors
- pain and discomfort
Various studies have examined interventions to help with sleep issues such as:
- postural needs bed
- Adenotonsillectomy
- massage
- baclofen
- melatonin
- Cranial osteopathy and/or accupuncture
The researchers concluded that the quality of studies is generally quite low along with small sample sizes. Melatonin appears to be the most widely prescribed drug for sleep disturbances in children with CP and has the most consistent reports of improved sleep latency and night waking.
You can read the entire publication at CanChild or http://cpnet.canchild.ca/en/resources/KeepingCurrentonSleep.pdf.
Reference: Griffith, Yundt, & Rosenbaum. Keeping Current In Sleep Issues Among Children with Cerebral Palsy. CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research. Retrieved from the web on 9/26/15 at http://cpnet.canchild.ca/en/resources/KeepingCurrentonSleep.pdf
Autism Sleeps™ serves as a thorough resource of sleep sensory strategies and suggestions for preparing the “sleep environment”. Sample bedtime and wake-up routines are provided as templates, especially to guide parents of all children with sleep difficulties. Find out more at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/autismsleeps.html
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