Can better sleep improve life for children with autism?
Sleep challenges are incredibly common for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Research suggests that between 44% and 83% of children with autism experience ongoing sleep difficulties, including trouble falling asleep, waking during the night, restless sleep, and waking tired in the morning. These challenges often affect not only the child, but the entire family.
Poor sleep has been linked to increased anxiety, hyperactivity, emotional regulation difficulties, behavioural challenges, and reduced quality of life. Parents frequently report that sleep issues can make everyday challenges associated with autism even harder to manage.
Because of this, finding safe, practical, and effective sleep solutions is an important priority for many families.
Exploring a non-medication approach
A 2017 pilot study examined whether the Dreampad™ pillow could help improve sleep for children with autism who were experiencing sleep difficulties.
Unlike traditional sleep interventions, the Dreampad uses gentle music and soothing environmental sounds delivered through bone conduction technology embedded within a pillow. The sound is designed to promote relaxation and support the body's natural transition into sleep.
Researchers wanted to understand whether using the pillow could improve:
- Sleep duration
- Time taken to fall asleep
- Autism-related behavioral challenges
- Attention and focus
- Overall quality of life
How the study worked
The study included 15 children with autism aged between 2 and 15 years who had moderate to severe sleep difficulties.
Families first completed a two-week observation period without the Dreampad. The children then used the Dreampad every night for four weeks.
Researchers collected information through sleep diaries and validated parent-report questionnaires measuring sleep habits, behavior, attention, and quality of life.
Children fell asleep faster
Before using the Dreampad, children took an average of approximately 56 minutes to fall asleep.
During the intervention period, that average dropped to around 32 minutes.
That's a reduction of approximately 23 minutes each night.
Children slept longer
Average nightly sleep increased from just under 9 hours to around 9 hours and 40 minutes.
While 40 minutes may not sound like much, parents of children with sleep challenges know that even small improvements can have a meaningful impact on daily functioning.
Improvements extended beyond sleep
Researchers also found positive changes in several areas commonly affected by sleep quality.
Parents reported improvements in:
- Attention and concentration
- Emotional regulation
- Social functioning
- School functioning
- Physical wellbeing
- Autism related behavioral challenges
Many families also reported reductions in stress levels and sensory sensitivities.
What did parents think?
Parent satisfaction was extremely positive.
Among those who completed the feedback survey:
- All reported improvements in their child's ability to fall asleep
- All reported better overall sleep quality
- Most observed positive changes in daytime behaviour
- Every parent said they would recommend the Dreampad to other families dealing with autism-related sleep difficulties
These findings suggest that families found the intervention both practical and easy to incorporate into their nightly routines.
Who may benefit the most?
The study found that some children responded more strongly than others.
Children whose primary difficulties involved
- Taking a long time to sleep
- Bedtime resistance
- General sleep disruption
Appeared to benefit the most.
Children experiencing more complex sleep conditions such as:
- Night terrors
- Sleepwalking
- Chronic nightmares
- Significant gastrointestinal issues
- Extreme restlessness during sleep
Showed less improvement and may require additional or more specialized interventions.
Important study limitations
While the results are encouraging, it's important to understand that this was a small pilot study.
The study included only 15 children and did not use a control group. Researchers relied largely on parent-reported outcomes rather than objective sleep measurements.
The authors themselves noted that larger, controlled studies are needed to confirm the findings and better understand who benefits most from the intervention.
What this means for families
For families looking for non-pharmaceutical sleep support, the Dreampad may offer a promising option.
The study suggests that improving sleep may have benefits that extend well beyond bedtime. Better sleep was associated with improvements in attention, behaviour, emotional wellbeing, and overall quality of life.
While more research is still needed, these early findings indicate that gentle sensory-based sleep interventions such as the Dreampad may help some children with autism get the restorative sleep they need to thrive.
Reference
Schoen, S.A., Man, S., & Spiro, C. (2017). A Sleep Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 5(2). DOI: 10.15453/2168-6408.1293