[Music] There are many disease and disorders which affect the brain. One of them being autism spectrum
disorder. This is a developmental disorder that affects the behaviour and communication. It impacts
how an individual socializes and perceives interactions of others. The spectrum of autism
is very wide and everyone who is diagnosed with ASD does not experience the same symptoms. They're
individuals with ASD that are super talkative and want to engage with others and on the other
side of the spectrum there are individuals who are non-verbal and like to keep to themselves.
ASD comes with many different challenges that the individual struggles with on a daily basis these
challenges include but are not limited to social phobia, avoidance behaviours, meltdowns repetitive
behaviours, obsession impulsivity or hyperactivity. Autistic individuals can be highly sensitive to
sensory posturing issues centered around main senses such as sight, sound, smell, and texture.
Since the way ASD has varying effects from person to person it is important to have a general basis
to what can help these individuals as a whole improve their quality of life this can be done by
having an established sleep pattern. As having good quality of sleep will lead to lowering symptoms
of autism experience the next day. There is a high prevalence of sleep problems that is common among
children with ASD between the ranges of 50 to 80 percent found in children aged one to three.
Sleep problems typically start occurring when a child is around 30 months however it is still
reported by adults and with ASD as it can be chronic the cause of this bad sleep is from late
bedtime trouble falling asleep night awakenings and a small amount of sleep period. It can also
be related to things like bedwetting, anxiety, restless sleep, snoring, night terrors, illnesses
and social community difficulties. Understanding what is causing the sleep problems can be easier
for the caregivers to support their children. Sleep problems are among the most pressing
concerns for caregivers and families of children with ASD. However, with great importance how sleep
effects behavior is talked about very minimally. At Stanford University, psychologist Ruth O'Hara
said sleep disturbance impacts cognition, it impacts mood, and it impacts behavior.
Poor sleep is considered to be less than 10 hours for autistic individuals. Typically it shouldn't
take more than over 30 minutes for children to fall asleep. For ASD children, it takes about 11
minutes longer than that. Many Studies have been conducted that showcase that autistic
individuals who have little sleep experience magnifies symptoms of the disorder. Their social
skills are severely poor they're more prone to agitation, experience high levels of repetitive
behavior and are more hyperactive or very little energy and they're also much easily
distracted as well they tend to lose focus quicker leading to poor educational performance.
Sleep is extremely important for all individuals even ones that are not diagnosed with ASD and need
a good sleep pattern. When people don't get a high quality sleep the next day they're more likely
to be cranky moody and non-social. Same goes for individual autism but at a much more important
level. ASD affects parts of the brain which control emotion communication and body movement as such
they need more sleep such the brain can develop grow and recharge properly for the upcoming day
in general a high quality of sleep is found to be 12 to 14 hours of sleep per day for ages one to three, 10
to 12 hours for ages three to six, 10 to 11 hours for ages seven to twelve and 10 hours for all other ages.
Individuals with ASD thrive in routine settings and having an established bedtime, bedtime
routine, and comfortable sleep environment which can positively benefit the individual.
This is an important topic as a strength of autistic individuals typically lie outside
social settings and sleep can affect social interactions in both a positive and a negative
way. With a good quality sleep, the individual can have a much better performance throughout the day
and a low performance with poor sleep. Better sleep isn't going to get rid of the symptoms
associated with autism but it will help to reduce the symptoms associated with ASD.