Effectiveness of Weighted Blankets on Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Gideon Koren MD FRCPC FACMT(1), Sharon Peleg MSc(2) and Liad Cohen Heiman (2) Adelson School of Medicine (1) and Ariel Developmental Clinic(2), Ariel University, Ariel, Israel 40700 Address for correspondence: Gideon Koren MD FRCPC FACMT Tel 972587194777

While an estimated 3.7% of children and youth suffer from an ICD9 diagnosis of sleep disorder (1), the prevalence among children exhibiting autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) ranges between 44-83% (2). These have a wide range of adverse effects on behaviour, mood, neurobehavioral functioning, including attention, cognition, memory, school performance, and heavy impact on parental stress and family life (3). Most of these children receive sleep medications, often with partial response and adverse effects (4). Sensory integration is a popular and widely used therapy for children with ASD, with weighted blankets (WB) reported in numerous references ( ). Yet, very few controlled studies currently exist to support this practice, with contradictory results. Objective: To evaluate the effects of weighted blankets supplied by one manufacturer on sleep patterns of mostly ASD youngsters. Patients and methods: Sixteen children (age range 6.5-18yr) with either ASD (n=11), ADHD (n=1), CP (n=1) and insomnia not otherwise defined (n=3) with severe and chronic forms of insomnia, received WB number 6. Results: In practically all cases there was a rapid and immediate improvement, in most cases resulting in all night sleep. Discussion: A few previous studies reported on modest /no effect of WB, resulting in unenthusiastic response by the pediatric community. The present study suggests that this reality should be thoroughly investigated.