Sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are often associated with problem behaviors. Problematic sleep in the child may impact maternal sleep. We examined the association of sleep in mother-child dyads to child daytime behavior and maternal insomnia and daytime sleepiness in 11 children with ASD and 6 children of typical development (TD) using wrist actigraphs over 14 consecutive nights. Early morning wakenings were significantly associated with poorer daytime behavior as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist in both ASD and TD children. Additionally, associations were found between mother and child sleep and between the child's sleep and maternal daytime sleepiness. These results highlight the need to consider the potential interaction of maternal-child sleep in future studies.
Keywords: Actigraphy; Autism spectrum disorder; Behavior problems; Mother-child sleep; Sleep problems.