The Relationship Between Sensory-Processing Disorders and Sleep Disturbances in School-Aged Autistic Children in Shiraz, 2015

Autism is a neurological disorder that limits communication, socialization, and participation of children in symbolic play. Sensory processing disorders are common characteristics (45% to 96%) of children with pervasive development disorders, including. Sleep disorders are also more prevalent in autistic children than in normal children. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sensory processing disorders and sleep disturbances in school-aged autistic children. This study is quantitative, observational, and cross-sectional. 35 school-aged autistic children in Shiraz, Iran were selected using cluster sampling. A demographic questionnaire, short sensory profile (SSP), and the sleep disturbance scale for children (SDSC) were used. The Pearson correlation coefficient and Pearson chi-square were used during data analysis. Results shows that autistic children show clear differences from normal function (74.3%), possible differences with normal function (20%), and normal function (5.7%) in their total sensory processing scores. 95.3% of autistic children had some degrees of abnormal sensory processing disorder. Also, 68.6% of the participants suffered from sleep disorders. However, there was no relationship between sensory processing disorders and sleep disturbances in children with autism (P value = 0.83). Also, there was no correlation between the subscales of sensory processing disorders and the subscales of sleep disturbances. The results showed that despite the simultaneous high prevalence of sleep disturbances and sensory processing disorders in children with autism, there isn’t a significant relationship between the two conditions among these children.