Children with severe developmental disabilities or autism often have difficulty with sleep which can not only impact on their sleep, but affect the whole family. These disorders are common, with autism affecting around 2% of the population. To understand why this occurs and what can be done we talk to Assoc Prof Margot Davey from Monash Childrens' sleep Centre and Assoc Prof Amanda Richdale from La Trobe University.

Dr Moira Junge (Health Psychologist) and Dr David Cunnington (Sleep Physician) host the monthly podcast, Sleep Talk, talking all things sleep.

Leave a review and subscribe via iTunes

Audio Timeline:

• 00:00 -  01:35 Introduction
• 01:35 - 05:35 What's news in sleep?
  • Dr Michel Jouvet
  • Daylight Saving Time
  • World Sleep Congress 2017
  • Upcoming conferences
• 05:35 - 38:55 Theme - Sleep in Special Needs Children
  • 05:35 - 07:41 Background - Sleep in Special Needs Children
  • 07:41 - 21:07 Assoc Prof Margot Davey - Sleep in Children With Severe Developmental Disabilities
  • 21:07 - 33:45 Assoc Prof Amanda Richdale - Sleep in Autism
  • 33:45 - 37:52 Strategies for parents of special needs children to manage their sleep
  • 37:52 - 38:55 More information on Sleep in Special Needs Children
• 38:55 - 40:00 Clinical tip: The key to children sleeping well is parents sleeping well
• 40:00 - 43:10 Pick of the month:
  • 40:00 - 41:37 Moira - Nobel Prize for circadian rhythm research
  • 41:37 - 43:10 David - The Paradox of Sleep - Book by Dr Michel Jouvet
• 43:10 - 45:37 What's coming up in sleep?

Next episode: November - Sleep Economics 

Links mentioned in the podcast: 

• Dr Michel Jouvet - obituary in New York Times
• Adjusting for daylight saving time
• World Sleep Congress
• Sleep Down Under - Auckland 25-28th October 2017
• International Conference on Sleep Disorders - Jalandhar, India 27-29th October 2017
• Sleep in children with special health care needs - Research article
• Monash Childrens' Sleep Centre
• Sleep in children with autism spectrum disorders - Review article by Amanda Richdale
• Sleep wake rhythms in adults with autism spectrum disorders - Research by Amanda Richdale
• Video of talk by Margot Davey on managing sleep in genetic epilepsies -from 2hr41min to 3hr 16min
• Raising Children - Website
• Solving Sleep Problems in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders - Book
• Article in The Conversation - Nobel Prize for circadian rhythm research
• The Paradox of Sleep - Book by Dr Michel Jouvet
• Dr David Cunnington - Instagram
• Dr David Cunnington - Facebook