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The mission of SLEEPSAC is to advance the well-being of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through promoting healthy sleep.
There is a higher prevalence of sleep disorders in the ASD community that can impact their quality of life, and physical and social-emotional health.
Individuals may struggle with maintaining a consistent bedtime routine, and symptoms such as difficulty with sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and restlessness at night. Sleep problems can be associated with exacerbation of daytime and night time behaviors and cores symptoms of ASD.
Evidence shows that higher sensory hyper-reactivity and lower social skills are associated with more severe insomnia. There are a number of sleep disorders, in addition to insomnia, that can contribute to poor sleep health including Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Restless leg syndrome, Periodic Limb movements of sleep, delayed sleep-phase disorder, and irregular sleep-wake rhythm. People with ASD are also at higher risk of having co-morbid conditions that can also affect sleep quality such as depression, anxiety, epilepsy, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
