Mughal, Rabeya;
(2020)
Sleep and Daytime Functioning in Children on the Fetal Alcohol and Autism Spectrums.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Autism and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are neurodevelopmental conditions that affect at least 3% of the school aged population. Both have serious secondary sequelae including anxiety and depression, problems with concentration in class, learning new concepts through relevant curriculums, and social communication. Sleep is crucial to healthy neurodevelopment. It is not just a period of rest, but a time when the brain is highly active. During sleep, the brain consolidates newly acquired information, organises memory, and can lay the basis for emotional memory. Within Autism and FASD (as well as in many other developmental and psychological conditions), sleep quality and quantity remain much lower than the average and necessary amount. It is not known why this is, but research suggests that there is a complex and bidirectional relationship between sleep and development. This relationship may be part of the compromise of atypical development. This thesis links sleep with a number of daytime outcomes in children with Autism and FASD. According to the research carried out as part of this thesis, sleep is connected to anxiety, behaviours such as aggression and withdrawal, cognitive aspects such attention and working memory, as well as social and environmental factors. This is apparent not only in children in the neurodevelopmental categories, but in typically developing children too. This research also finds that children with Autism and FASD experience more sleep problems than typically developing children. It is therefore proposed here that sleep health interventions should be strongly considered as part of the therapeutic practice for children with Autism and FASD.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Sleep and Daytime Functioning in Children on the Fetal Alcohol and Autism Spectrums |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10110968 |
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