title: Effectiveness of Sleep-Based Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Synthesis.
abstract: Sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This meta-synthesis collated eight previously published systematic reviews examining the efficacy of sleep interventions in children with ASD in an attempt to present a clear analysis of trialed interventions. The collated reviews consider five major groups of sleep interventions for children with ASD: melatonin therapy, pharmacologic treatments other than melatonin, behavioral interventions, parent education/education programs, and alternative therapies (massage therapy, aromatherapy, and multivitamin and iron supplementation). These eight reviews were based on 38 original studies and address the efficacy of interventions across 17 sleep problem domains. The results of this meta-synthesis suggest that no single intervention is effective across all sleep problems in children with ASD. However, melatonin, behavioral interventions, and parent education/education program interventions appear the most effective at ameliorating multiple domains of sleep problems compared with other interventions. Due to the heterogeneous causative factors and presentations of disordered sleep, further research into the effectiveness of sleep interventions may target specific phenotypic subgroups rather than a broad analysis across the general ASD population. Similarly, future research needs to consider the efficacy of different polytherapeutic approaches in order to provide clinicians with evidence to inform best practice. In the meantime, this review supports clinicians' decision making for a majority of the identified sleep problems in the ASD population.
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy & Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Belinda M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Cuomo
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy & Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Sharmila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy & Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Elinda Ai Lim
authors.initials: EAL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy & Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy & Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rogerson
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy & Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.|Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Medicine and Health Sciences (IMH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University & Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, Linköping, Sweden.|Department for Rehabilitation, School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Torbjorn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Falkmer
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D061345:Early Medical Intervention / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008550:Melatonin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D008550:Melatonin
keywords: Asperger's syndrome; PDD-NOS; autism; children; clinical; insomnia; literature; pediatrics; systematic review