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Under Special Circumstances
Sleep Disorders and Bedwetting in Special Needs Children
By Carma Haley Shoemaker
It is estimated that between seven and eight million children suffer from some type of sleep disorder. These include snoring, sleepwalking, insomnia, night terrors, teeth grinding and – the most common sleep disorder – enuresis (bedwetting). These conditions can be a cause of embarrassment, self-esteem issues and even fear. Add in the factor of a disability, disease or disorder, and the issue can be increased exponentially.
Statistics from both the National Sleep Foundation and Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago state that children with special needs often suffer from numerous other sleep disorders as a result of their special needs.
"Children with special needs tend to have at least one sleep disorder," says Dr. Stephen Sheldon, director of the sleep medicine center at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill. "Special needs children may have – and often do have – bladder or bowel control issues either due to their condition, disease or perhaps their mobility. These facts are what can lead to sleep disorders such as snoring, sleepwalking, sleep apnea, teeth grinding, night terrors, bedwetting and/or insomnia."
Sleep disorders are hard on the entire family, as it is not only the child's sleep patterns that are disrupted and according to Dr. Sheldon, it's a problem that tends to affect special needs children more than others. "When a child wakes up and cannot go back to sleep, wakes up wet or wakes up crying or screaming, it is the parent who comes to their aid," says Dr. Sheldon. "Children see this and can sense if their parent is upset or angry because they have been woken up, have to change the sheets or have to lose sleep to tend to the child. Children fear that their parents will become angry with them, will be upset or will be disappointed in them. And because special needs children can be more emotional, sensitive and fragile than others, the effects of their parents' reactions last for hours, days or even weeks."
