Changes in Sleep of Families After the Arrival of an Autism Service Dog.
This study aimed to investigate the changes in sleep quality and quantity among families following the arrival of an autism service dog. We hypothesized that the sleep of the child or adolescent with autism spectrum disorder (assessed objectively with actigraphy and subjectively with a parent-report...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 110 - 123 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Springer Nature
Jan2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=191290304&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 191290304 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 01623257 AUT jtl: Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders issn: 01623257 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jan2026 vid: 56 iid: 1 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 191290304 179525369 191290304 191290304 10.1007/s10803-024-06546-5 191290304 ppf: 110 ppct: 13 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Changes in Sleep of Families After the Arrival of an Autism Service Dog. aug: au: Simard, Valérie Aubry-Guzzi, Marie-Aude Chapleau, Isabelle Moënner, Marina François, Nathe Champagne, Noël affil: https://ror.org/00kybxq39 Departement of Psychology, Université de Sherbrooke, 150 Place Charles-Le Moyne, Bureau 200, J4K 0A8, Longueuil, QC, Canada sug: subj: Autism Spectrum Disorder Therapy Pet Therapy Methods Dogs Family Psychosocial Factors Sleep Quality Evaluation Family Attitudes Evaluation Sleep Duration Evaluation Human Male Female Child, Preschool Child Adolescence Descriptive Statistics Pretest-Posttest Design Quantitative Studies Actigraphy T-Tests Analysis of Covariance Data Analysis Software Pearson's Correlation Coefficient Confidence Intervals Child, Preschool: 2-5 years Child: 6-12 years Adolescent: 13-18 years Male Female ab: This study aimed to investigate the changes in sleep quality and quantity among families following the arrival of an autism service dog. We hypothesized that the sleep of the child or adolescent with autism spectrum disorder (assessed objectively with actigraphy and subjectively with a parent-reported sleep diary), and of both parents (assessed by self-reported diaries) would improve after the dog's arrival. The sleep of 18 youths (15 boys) aged from 5 to 16 years (M = 8.86), and of their parents (14 mothers, 11 fathers) was assessed for a 5- to 7-day period before (pretest) and eight to ten weeks after the dog's arrival (posttest). A designated parent (the same at the pretest and posttest) completed the sleep diary of the child, who wore an actiwatch in the meantime. Significant improvement in most sleep parameters was observed from pretest to posttest for the child and the mother, as reported in the sleep diaries. However, there was no improvement in the child's sleep when assessed objectively. Fathers' sleep duration increased after the dog's arrival, when adjusting for the child's age. All significant effects had medium to large sizes. This study provides the first quantitative evidence of the positive effect of autism service dogs on the sleep of families. These findings suggest that the dog's presence may increase the sense of safety for the child, who would resume sleeping faster or stay in the bedroom after nocturnal awakenings, leading to improved parents' sleep. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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