Most children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have sleep problems that impact their ability to adapt to everyday demands of life. Characteristics of ASD, such as repetitive behaviors and social communication deficits become more problematic when children experience long-term poor sleep. Sleep deprivation is also detrimental to all family members. Face-to-face (F2F) sleep educational sessions for parents have improved children’s sleep and improved families’ quality of life. Interventions using technology such as on-line education have been effective in changing health behaviors in a variety of health conditions. Currently, there are no published studies that evaluate the effect of on-line educational sessions for children with ASD and insomnia. The proposed project employs two formats of education and support: F2F and online. Delivered to small groups of randomized parent participants, results from 72 families will be assessed. The specific aim is to determine whether an online educational program with two sessions, including parent blogging and online facilitator support, provides the same benefit as F2F education/telephone support. Children’s sleep and quality of life appraisals will be compared between the groups. A long-term goal is to apply the results to the design of effective online services to assist families in improving sleep for their child with ASD. The online educational modality could serve greater numbers of families in a convenient, accessible manner.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
