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Sleep Disorders and Autism: Behavioural Correlates, Diagnostic Tools and Treatment Strategies

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Sleep and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

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Abstract

Disrupted sleep is a common complaint among children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Disturbed sleep can be explained in three ways in this population—shared neurocircuitry and pathophysiological mechanisms, as a core symptom of the autistic spectrum disorder and thirdly, an effect of comorbid psychiatric disorder. A number of studies have shown that circadian rhythm is disturbed among patients with ASD. Sleep problems may be assessed using parent responded questionnaires, for example, children sleep habit questionnaire and objectively, using actigraphy and polysomnography. Literature regarding management of insomnia in this population is scarce with melatonin being most commonly investigated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, System Medicine Department, Tor Vergata University Hospital of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Assia Riccioni, Martina Siracusano & Luigi Mazzone

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  1. Assia Riccioni
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  2. Martina Siracusano
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  3. Luigi Mazzone
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Correspondence to Luigi Mazzone .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Division of Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India

    Ravi Gupta

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, MD, USA

    David N. Neubauer

  3. Somnogen Canada Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada

    S. R. Pandi-Perumal

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Riccioni, A., Siracusano, M., Mazzone, L. (2022). Sleep Disorders and Autism: Behavioural Correlates, Diagnostic Tools and Treatment Strategies. In: Gupta, R., Neubauer, D.N., Pandi-Perumal, S.R. (eds) Sleep and Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0123-1_26

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