Sleep Difficulties and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Guide for Parents and Professionals

Problems with sleeping are common and make life difficult for the individual who is affected and for those around them. Sleep difficulties are particularly prevalent amongst people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and often cause or worsen other difficulties.

This comprehensive guide to the management of sleep problems, introduces all the proven remedies and focuses on the problems commonly found in ASDs and related conditions. The author discusses sleep in depth, including how we currently define and understand it. The full spectrum of sleep disorders is explained alongside the range of possible treatment approaches. The book also examines why some sleep problems are more common among people with an ASD than others, how sleep problems evolve over time, what can be done to treat them and the likely benefits from different treatments.

This book is a complete resource for professionals, families and carers working with those suffering from sleep problems of any kind. It will be of great interest to anyone wanting to gain a thorough understanding of sleep in relation to ASDs.

Kenneth J. Aitken is a practising clinical psychologist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is active among many charitable organisations and research initiatives dedicated to building a better understanding of autism spectrum disorders and related conditions, and has published numerous academic and popular articles on ASDs.