At Home Sleep Study in Autism

Many children with autism have sleep disturbances. In this study we are using headbands to measure brain rhythms during sleep at home.

• Diagnosis of either Phelan-McDermid syndrome, Fragile X syndrome (males only), 16p11.2 deletion syndrome, or profound autism (i.e., minimally verbal, intellectual disability, and/or challenging behaviors).
• Ages 12-19
• Parent/caregiver must be able to communicate in English

It will take 1-3 weeks to complete the study. Participation can be in a hybrid format (remote/in-person at the Lurie Center for Autism in Lexington, MA) or entirely remote and will entail 2 sessions with the study team. In the first session, we will provide participants and their families a headband to practice with at home for 1-2 weeks. Participants who are able to acclimate to wearing the headband will be invited for a second session where they will complete assessments with study staff and their caregivers will receive training on how to set up and use the sleep headband. Participants will then sleep at home with the headband for 3 consecutive nights. Our study team will provide remote technical assistance as needed. Those participating in-person will also have the option to be fit with an EEG cap and listen to sounds during the second session.

We hope this research will help us to understand the causes of sleep difficulties in autism and will lead to better treatment.