Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Molecular Autism
Published in: Molecular Autism 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research

Sleep disturbances are associated with specific sensory sensitivities in children with autism

Authors: Orna Tzischinsky, Gal Meiri, Liora Manelis, Asif Bar-Sinai, Hagit Flusser, Analya Michaelovski, Orit Zivan, Michal Ilan, Michal Faroy, Idan Menashe, Ilan Dinstein

Published in: Molecular Autism | Issue 1/2018

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Sensory abnormalities and sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in children with autism, but the potential relationship between these two domains has rarely been explored. Understanding such relationships is important for identifying children with autism who exhibit more homogeneous symptoms.

Methods

Here, we examined this relationship using the Caregiver Sensory Profile and the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire, which were completed by parents of 69 children with autism and 62 age-matched controls.

Results

In line with previous studies, children with autism exhibited more severe sensory abnormalities and sleep disturbances than age-matched controls. The sleep disturbance scores were moderately associated with touch and oral sensitivities in the autism group and with touch and vestibular sensitivities in the control group. Hypersensitivity towards touch, in particular, exhibited the strongest relationship with sleep disturbances in the autism group and single-handedly explained 24% of the variance in total sleep disturbance scores. In contrast, sensitivity in other sensory domains such as vision and audition was not associated with sleep quality in either group.

Conclusions

While it is often assumed that sensitivities in all sensory domains are similarly associated with sleep problems, our results suggest that hypersensitivity towards touch exhibits the strongest relationship with sleep disturbances when examining children autism. We speculate that hypersensitivity towards touch interferes with sleep onset and maintenance in a considerable number of children with autism who exhibit severe sleep disturbances. This may indicate the existence of a specific sleep disturbance mechanism that is associated with sensitivity to touch, which may be important to consider in future scientific and clinical studies.
Literature
1.
American Psychiatric Association, Association AP. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.CrossRef
2.
3.
4.
Baranek GT, David FJ, Poe MD, Stone WL, Watson LR. Sensory Experiences Questionnaire: discriminating sensory features in young children with autism, developmental delays, and typical development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discip. 2006;47:591–601.CrossRef
5.
Klintwall L, Holm A, Eriksson M, Carlsson LH, Olsson MB, Hedvall Å, et al. Sensory abnormalities in autism. A brief report. Res Dev Disabil. 2011;32:795–800.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Leekam SR, Nieto C, Libby SJ, Wing L, Gould J. Describing the sensory abnormalities of children and adults with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2007;37:894–910.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Rogers SJ, Hepburn S, Wehner E. Parent reports of sensory symptoms in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 2003;33:631–42.CrossRefPubMed
8.
McCormick C, Hepburn S, Young GS, Rogers SJ. Sensory symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder, other developmental disorders and typical development: a longitudinal study. Autism. 2015;20:572–9.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
9.
Rogers SJ, Ozonoff S. Annotation: what do we know about sensory dysfunction in autism? A critical review of the empirical evidence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2005;46:1255–68.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Kern JK, Trivedi MH, Garver CR, Grannemann BD, Andrews AA, Savla JS, et al. The pattern of sensory processing abnormalities in autism. Autism. 2006;10:480–94.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Zwaigenbaum L, Bryson S, Rogers T, Roberts W, Brian J, Szatmari P. Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2005;23:143–52.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Ben-Sasson A, Hen L, Fluss R, Cermak SA, Engel-Yeger B, Gal E. A meta-analysis of sensory modulation symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 2009;39:1–11.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Heaton P, Davis RE, Happé FGE. Research note: exceptional absolute pitch perception for spoken words in an able adult with autism. Neuropsychologia. 2008;46:2095–8.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Tavassoli T, Bellesheim K, Tommerdahl M, Holden JM, Kolevzon A, Buxbaum JD. Altered tactile processing in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res. 2015;9:1–5.
15.
Brown NB, Dunn W. Relationship between context and sensory processing in children with autism. Am J Occup Ther. 2010;64:474–83.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Tavassoli T, Miller LJ, Schoen SA, Nielsen DM, Baron-Cohen S. Sensory over-responsivity in adults with autism spectrum conditions. Autism. 2014;18:428–32.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Krakowiak P, Goodlin-Jones B, Hertz-Picciotto I, Croen LA, Hansen RL. Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, and typical development: a population-based study. J Sleep Res. 2008;17:197–206.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
18.
Mayes SD, Calhoun SL. Variables related to sleep problems in children with autism. Res Autism Spectr Disord. 2009;3:931–41.CrossRef
19.
Cortesi F, Giannotti F, Ivanenko A, Johnson K. Sleep in children with autistic spectrum disorder. Sleep Med. 2010;11:659–64.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Souders MC, Mason TBA, Valladares O, Bucan M, Levy SE, Mandell DS, et al. Sleep behaviors and sleep quality in children with autism spectrum disorders. Sleep. 2009;32:1566–78.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
21.
Hollway JA, Aman MG, Butter E. Correlates and risk markers for sleep disturbance in participants of the autism treatment network. J Autism Dev Disord. 2013;43:2830–43.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Williams GP, Sears LL, Allard A. Sleep problems in children with autism. J Sleep Res. 2004;13:265–8.CrossRef
23.
Taylor MA, Schreck KA, Mulick JA. Sleep disruption as a correlate to cognitive and adaptive behavior problems in autism spectrum disorders. Res Dev Disabil. 2012;33:1408–17.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Goldman SE, McGrew S, Johnson KP, Richdale AL, Clemons T, Malow BA. Sleep is associated with problem behaviors in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Res Autism Spectr Disord. 2011;5:1223–9.CrossRef
25.
Mazurek MO, Petroski GF. Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder: examining the contributions of sensory over-responsivity and anxiety. Sleep Med. 2015;16:270–9.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Hirata I, Mohri I, Kato-Nishimura K, Tachibana M, Kuwada A, Kagitani-Shimono K, et al. Sleep problems are more frequent and associated with problematic behaviors in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Res Dev Disabil. 2016;49–50:86–99.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Reynolds AM, Malow BA. Sleep and autism spectrum disorders. Pediatr Clin N Am. 2011;58:685–98.CrossRef
28.
Murray DS, Fedele A, Shui A, Coury DL. The autism speaks autism treatment network registry data: opportunities for investigators. Pediatrics. 2016;137:S72–8.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Achenbach TM, Ruffle TM. The child behavior checklist and related forms for assessing behavioral/emotional problems and competencies. Pediatrics in Rev. 2000;21:265–71.CrossRef
30.
Tomchek SD, Dunn W. Sensory processing in children with and without autism: a comparative study using the short sensory profile. Am J Occup Ther. 2007;61:190–200.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Owens JA, Spirito A, McGuinn M. The Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ): psychometric properties of a survey instrument for school-aged children. Sleep. 2000;23:1043–51.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Kientz MA, Dunn WA. Comparison of the performance of children with and without autism on the sensory profile. Am J Occup Ther. 1997;51:530–7.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Meiri G, Dinstein I, Michaelowski A, Flusser H, Ilan M, Faroy M, et al. The Negev hospital-university-based (HUB) autism database. J Autism Dev Disord. 2017;47:2918–26.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Lord C1, Risi S, Lambrecht L, Cook EH Jr, Leventhal BL, DiLavore PC, Pickles A, Rutter M. The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: a standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2000;30(3):205–23.
35.
Neuman A, Greenberg DF, Labovitz DR, Suzuki LA. Cross-cultural adaptation of the sensory profile: establishing linguistic equivalency of the Hebrew version. Occup Ther Int. 2004;11:112–30.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Tzchishinsky O, Lufi D, Shochat T. Reliability of the Children’s sleep habits questionnaire Hebrew translation and cross cultural comparison of the psychometric properties. Sleep Diagnosis Ther. 2008;3:30–4.
37.
Riemann D, Spiegelhalder K, Feige B, Voderholzer U, Berger M, Perlis M, et al. The hyperarousal model of insomnia: a review of the concept and its evidence. Sleep Med Rev. 2010;14:19–31.
38.
Jan JE, Owens JA, Weiss MD, Johnson KP, Wasdell MB, Freeman RD, et al. Sleep hygiene for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Pediatrics. 2008;122:1343–50.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Melke J, Goubran Botros H, Chaste P, Betancur C, Nygren G, Anckarsäter H, et al. Abnormal melatonin synthesis in autism spectrum disorders. Mol Psychiatry. 2008;13:90–8.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Leu RM, Beyderman L, Botzolakis EJ, Surdyka K, Wang L, Malow BA. Relation of melatonin to sleep architecture in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2011;41:427–33.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
41.
Miano S, Ferri R. Epidemiology and management of insomnia in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Paediatr Drugs. 2010;12:75–84.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Milner CE, Cuthbert BP, Kertesz RS, Cote KA. Sensory gating impairments in poor sleepers during presleep wakefulness. Neuroreport. 2009;20:331–6.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Hairston IS, Talbot LS, Eidelman P, Gruber J, Harvey AG. Sensory gating in primary insomnia. Eur J Neurosci. 2010;31:2112–21.CrossRefPubMed
44.
Yang C-M, Lo H-S. ERP evidence of enhanced excitatory and reduced inhibitory processes of auditory stimuli during sleep in patients with primary insomnia. Sleep. 2007;30:585–92.CrossRefPubMed
45.
46.
Rubenstein JLR, Merzenich MM. Model of autism: increased ratio of excitation/inhibition in key neural systems. Genes Brain Behav. 2003;2:255–67.CrossRefPubMed
47.
Vasak M, Williamson J, Garden J, Zwicker JG, et al. Sensory processing and sleep in typically developing infants and toddlers. Am J Occup Ther. 2015;69:6904220040p1.CrossRef
48.
Shochat T, Tzischinsky O, Engel-Yeger B. Sensory hypersensitivity as a contributing factor in the relation between sleep and behavioral disorders in normal schoolchildren. Behav Sleep Med. 2009;7:53–62.CrossRefPubMed
49.
Engel-Yeger B, Shochat T. The relationship between sensory processing patterns and sleep quality in healthy adults. Can J Occup Ther Rev. 2012;79:134–41.CrossRef
50.
Sadeh A. Assessment of intervention for infant night waking: parental reports and activity-based home monitoring. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994;62:63–8.
51.
Malow BA, Marzec ML, McGrew SG, Wang L, Henderson LM, Stone WL. Characterizing sleep in children with autism spectrum disorders: a multidimensional approach. Sleep. 2006;29:1563–71.CrossRefPubMed
52.
Goodwin JL, Silva GE, Kaemingk KL, Sherrill DL, Morgan WJ, Quan SF. Comparison between reported and recorded total sleep time and sleep latency in 6- to 11-year-old children: the Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study (TuCASA). Sleep Breath. 2007;11:85–92.CrossRefPubMed
53.
State MW, Šestan N, Jamain S, Sebat J, Szatmari P, State MW, et al. Neuroscience. The emerging biology of autism spectrum disorders. Science. 2012;337:1301–3.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
54.
Happé F, Ronald A, Plomin R. Time to give up on a single explanation for autism. Nat Neurosci. 2006;9:1218–20.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Sleep disturbances are associated with specific sensory sensitivities in children with autism
Authors
Orna Tzischinsky
Gal Meiri
Liora Manelis
Asif Bar-Sinai
Hagit Flusser
Analya Michaelovski
Orit Zivan
Michal Ilan
Michal Faroy
Idan Menashe
Ilan Dinstein
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Molecular Autism / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 2040-2392
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-018-0206-8

Other articles of this Issue 1/2018

Molecular Autism 1/2018 Go to the issue

Research

Identification of urinary metabolites that correlate with clinical improvements in children with autism treated with sulforaphane from broccoli

Research

Diffusional kurtosis imaging of the corpus callosum in autism

Research

The effect of age on vertex-based measures of the grey-white matter tissue contrast in autism spectrum disorder

Research

Analysis of the expression pattern of the schizophrenia-risk and intellectual disability gene TCF4 in the developing and adult brain suggests a role in development and plasticity of cortical and hippocampal neurons

Short report

Plasma anandamide concentrations are lower in children with autism spectrum disorder

Research

Reversed gender ratio of autism spectrum disorder in Smith-Magenis syndrome