Better Sleep is Teachable — Helping Autistic Children to Sleep Helps the Whole Family

Research has found that 40 to 80 percent of people on the autism spectrum struggle to sleep.

A newly updated resource from SleepJunkie.com highlights just how widespread sleep problems are for autistic children and what families can do tonight to get more rest, including some practical strategies parents can apply at home, from light and sound controls to food timing, visual schedules, and safer wandering safeguards.

Sleep struggles are not a niche issue. Research summarized in the guide shows an estimated 40 to 80 percent of children on the autism spectrum have sleep disturbances. The most common problems include trouble falling asleep, frequent night waking, very early rising, erratic sleep patterns, and daytime sleepiness. These patterns ripple through family life, driving more meltdowns, behavior challenges, and parental burnout.

Sleep problems in autism rarely have a single cause. Contributing factors can include disrupted circadian rhythms, reduced melatonin signaling, hypersensitive sensory systems, co-occurring conditions such as anxiety or epilepsy, physical discomfort like reflux or constipation, medications, and inconsistent routines. Parents report bedtime meltdowns, refusal to sleep in bed, night terrors, wandering, sleepwalking, and even night snacking. Each issue chips away at rest and raises safety concerns.

Dr. Jessee Dietch, PhD, a clinical health psychologist offers practical, evidence-based strategies that parents can tailor to fit their child’s unique needs.

“Good sleep is teachable. For autistic children, the key is a predictable routine, a calm sensory setup, and small changes kept consistent over time,” said Dr. Dietch.

Measure progress. A simple sleep log helps you see patterns, celebrate improvements, and share concrete data with your pediatrician or a behavioral sleep specialist. If you feel stuck, ask for help. Support exists, and better sleep is realistic for most families.

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According to Sleep Junkie, “The most common sleep and circadian problems for this group include not being able to fall asleep at night, waking frequently or for long periods at night, waking too early in the morning, sleeping for only short periods, irregular or erratic sleep patterns, and daytime sleepiness. Many parents report that their children with autism struggle with bedtime meltdowns, needing specific objects or people present to fall asleep, refusal or inability to sleep in a bed, frequent night terrors, nighttime wandering or sleepwalking, and even binge eating at night. All of these behaviors add up to a lack of sleep for the entire family.”

Nighttime wakefulness and lack of sleep can lead to more meltdowns and behavior challenges for the special-needs child and increased irritability and stress for the whole family. Parents and children who do not get enough sleep are at higher risk for illness because sleep is critical for the immune system.

Most likely, sleep problems are the result of a combination of biological, social/environmental, psychological, and family factors. Some of these include:

• Abnormal circadian rhythms. The circadian rhythm is the body’s natural sleep cycle. In children with sensory processing differences, including children with autism, this can be disrupted. In other words, children with autism may not naturally get sleepy when it is dark and wake up when it is light.
• Not perceiving social cues. Many elements of sleep hygiene are based on social cues. Observable changes like going upstairs, turning off lights, or seeing siblings get ready for bed are subconscious signals that bedtime is near. However, many children with autism have vibrant inner worlds and may have difficulty perceiving or interpreting these external signals.
• Co-occurring medical, mental health, or neurological conditions. If a child with special needs has additional medical, neurological, or mental health conditions, like anxiety or epilepsy, sleep struggles can be worse. For example, anxiety may result in increased fears and racing or repetitive thoughts that interfere with sleep.
• Physical discomfort. Children who suffer from physical problems like reflux or constipation, but cannot express their medical need to a caregiver, may struggle to sleep.
• Insufficient melatonin production. If the body does not naturally create melatonin, a hormone that signals sleep, the child will struggle to fall asleep.
• Hypersensitive sensory system. A sensory system that is alert to all environmental factors can prohibit sleep when even the smallest change in the environment occurs. Dishwashers, airflow, squeaky doors, light leaks, or other household stimuli can be a problem.
• Ineffective bedtime and sleep routines.
• Medications.

First Steps to tackle sleep issues with a child/person on the autism spectrum:

Here are some helpful steps to take if you want to tackle the problem of sleep issues offered in Autism and Sleep.

There is more information on this site that may be helpful in moving forward.

Light Issues

Sound Issues

Smells

Textures

Climate Control in the bedroom

Additional Concerns

A study some years back rings true today in that, “An important reason, if not the most important, for intervening when children with ASD have sleep problems is to improve daytime functioning. Parents of poorly sleeping children with ASD routinely report worse daytime behavior following nights of fragmented or insufficient sleep”. – and – “Children and adolescents with an ASD are at substantial risk for experiencing sleep problems, particularly insomnia. The clinician assessing a child with an ASD should screen carefully for sleep disorders and make referrals as indicated. Identifying and treating sleep disorders may result not only in improved sleep, but also impact favorably on daytime behavior and family functioning.

Read this well-known research study on sleep in autistic children paper, HERE – as published in Science Direct.

What is in your Sleep Tool Kit?

A resource called a Sleep Tool Kit is available from Stanford Medical Center which has a very helpful internet site on sleep. Not surprisingly, many of the techniques are applicable to all children – if not all adults – who struggle with good sleep.

https://med.stanford.edu/csasd/education/parent-toolkit/parent-interventions.html