Article Review Day 1: Sleep Problems

I just read an interesting article in an online medical journal. The article was written by Katherine Finn Davis, Kathy P. Parker, and Gary L. Montgomery.

They have found that "approximately 25% of children younger than 5 years experience some type of sleep problem. Whether the problem is acute or chronic, significant disruption to the child's sleep can occur and have a negative impact on the child and family."

As I have become more interested in sleep, I have reflected back on my teaching years... specific student's issues, SST meetings (Student Study Team), parent concerns and issues at home, etc. I think that amount of sleep, and really over all care, need to be a part of the process that schools go through as they work to identify and deal with a student's issue(s). I also think that doctors need to make sure that they are aware of a child's sleep as they work with a patient or diagnose a problem.

This article also states that "Pediatric health care providers are not well prepared in the basic aspects of pediatric sleep. Children with sleep problems who are seen in general pediatric clinics rarely have problems addressed, diagnosed, or treated, even when providers ask about sleep issues during the visit. Failure to recognize sleep patters can be attributed to parental lack of knowledge, lack of clinician expertise, or hurried discussions regarding the child's sleep behaviors." Because of this large percentage of children with some type of sleep problem, teachers, doctors, nurses, and social workers need to help parents in identifying and addressing sleep problems that really could change a child- their behavior, their attention span, their academic progress, their health... sleep is so important and necessary.

In the coming Thursdays, I will be looking at the different sleep problems highlighted in this study.