Early Sleep Differences in Young Infants with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Miranda Foster, Alexis Federico, Cheryl Klaiman and 1 others
PMID 37556592WHAT IT FOUND
Infants later diagnosed with autism slept less overall in their first six months, but their night-day sleep pattern matched typical peers.
How much sleep they got did not predict later development. However, sleeping more at night predicted better fine motor and language skills.
Key findings
01Infants later diagnosed with autism had significantly reduced total sleep duration in the first six months compared to typically developing infants.
02Total sleep duration at six months did not predict any developmental outcomes or autistic trait severity at twenty-four months.
03A higher percentage of sleep occurring at night at six months predicted better fine motor and receptive language skills at twenty-four months.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relied on parent-reported sleep logs, which were developed internally and have not been validated for reliability or accuracy. The sample size was small (69 infants), and all participants had an older sibling, which may limit generalizability to first-born infants. Diagnoses were made at twenty-four months, but some children with broad autism phenotype might meet criteria for ASD later, potentially misclassifying the groups. The study is observational and cannot determine if sleep differences cause developmental outcomes or if they are both influenced by other factors.
Declared interests
The paper is supported by the National Institutes of Health (Extramural). No other conflicts of interest are reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that increasing total sleep duration will improve developmental outcomes in infants with autism. The study found that total sleep duration did not predict any developmental skills, while nighttime sleep percentage did. This is an association, not proof that changing sleep habits will change development.