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Behavioral Intervention for Procedural Desensitization for Polysomnography

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Sleep in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

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Abstract

This chapter reviews the relevant literature and presents behavioral methods for preparing children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) to cooperate with medical procedures, focusing particularly on polysomnography (PSG). A case example of a 6-year-old boy, “Marco,” with NDD and sleep disturbance is used to illustrate the challenges faced by health-care providers when working with children with NDD. The available empirical support is summarized, followed by a detailed description of the behavioral approach we have developed to help children like Marco learn to cope and cooperate with PSG without sedation or restraint. The strategies and techniques used with Marco and described in detail in this chapter have broad and growing empirical support in the behavioral and pediatric psychology literature; however, their specific applications in the sleep laboratory and with PSG are just beginning to be demonstrated in the literature. While the results of this research literature and of cumulative clinical experience in our setting are quite positive and encouraging, there are many unknowns, particularly concerning whether or not all of these procedures are necessary for successful behavioral desensitization and training. Therefore, this chapter concludes with a discussion of these limitations, highlighting the need for controlled single-subject studies and randomized clinical trials to refine and validate these behavioral intervention procedures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Valerie Paasch

  2. Department of Behavioral Psychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Valerie Paasch, Lucy R. Leibowitz & Keith J. Slifer

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Keith J. Slifer

Authors
  1. Valerie Paasch
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  2. Lucy R. Leibowitz
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  3. Keith J. Slifer
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Correspondence to Valerie Paasch .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA

    Jennifer A. Accardo

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Paasch, V., Leibowitz, L.R., Slifer, K.J. (2019). Behavioral Intervention for Procedural Desensitization for Polysomnography. In: Accardo, J. (eds) Sleep in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98414-8_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98414-8_33

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