ABSTRACT
Sleeping problems are common among children with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Extinction may be effective if sleeping problems have been shaped and are positively reinforced by parental attention. The present study shows that extinction was effective in the treatment of severe sleeping problems in a six-year old girl with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Effects were maintained during follow-up.
Subject(s)
Abnormalities, Multiple , Behavior Therapy/methods , Chromosome Aberrations , Chromosome Disorders , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 4 , Sleep Wake Disorders/therapy , Abnormalities, Multiple/genetics , Child , Chromosome Aberrations/genetics , Developmental Disabilities/genetics , Extinction, Psychological , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , SyndromeABSTRACT
Sleeping problems are common among developmentally disabled children of young age and they may have adverse effects on the well-being of both child and parents. In the present study, results from functional assessment with four children suggested that sleeping problems were reinforced by parental attention whilst an undiagnosed seizure disorder was associated with nighttime crying with one child. Conditioned anxiety resulted in problems in settling to sleep with a sixth child. Behavioral (i.e., extinction, desensitization) and pharmacological (i.e., anticonvulsant) treatment resulted in a substantial reduction in sleeping problems with all children. Follow-up data indicate that effects were maintained.
