Pediatric Sleep Medicine Comes of Age

AMELIA ISLAND,FLA—A fussy baby fails to grow normally. A 7-year-old who has autism goes to sleep at 9 PM but awakens for thedayat2 AM.A9-year-oldcannotsit still inclassandseldomcompletes homework.A17-year-oldhonorstudent attendsbandpractice, staysuplate to finishhomework, anddrives through a red lightonthewaytoschool thenextmorning, clipping a delivery van. One in 4 children and adolescents has a problem with sleep that warrants a physician’s attention, specialists in pediatric sleep medicine say. Yet such problems often go unrecognized. Children who sleep too little or sleep poorly are more apt to be inattentive and hyperactive—tired and wired—than overtly drowsy. At a recent meeting here sponsored by Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, pediatric sleep specialists discussed ways to boost practitioner and public awareness of such symptoms and sought to define priorities for basic and clinical research, patient care, and public policy for their young field. The 130 attendees included pediatricians, pulmonologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists, as well as psychologists, social workers, and nurses.