Divided autism community bonds over need to study sleep
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On 4 May, I spoke on a panel at the headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Rockville, Maryland. At the meeting, industry representatives, advocates — including myself — and parents of autistic children talked about issues pertaining to autism treatments.
As at most such autism meetings, tensions were high at times:
But something remarkable happened during the final open-discussion period. The room seemed to light up as parents and self-advocates alike talked about autism and problems with sleep. This is something with which we all struggle.
Also astonishing? The utter lack of research on autism and sleep. A PubMed search reveals nine clinical trials on autism and sleep in the past five years. Compare that with the more than 400 clinical trials of treatments for core autism features, such as social deficits, published over the same period. This is absurd given the demonstrable need for solutions to sleep problems in autistic people: Difficulties with sleep are at least twice as common in autistic people as in the general population.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman