How Do I Know If My Child Has a Sleep Disorder?

It’s true that some sleep disorders in children can lead to behavioral issues. These issues might manifest at home or school, but they can be difficult to see or interpret. However, there are some signs you can look out for that might be obvious. The signs and possible symptoms of a sleep issue/disorder in a child can include:

– The child not getting at least 9 hours of sleep a night (9 hours is necessary for children)
– Noticeable mood or behavioral problems
– Problems with memory, concentration, learning, and performance (your child’s teachers may be able to provide insight into this for you)
– Slower reaction times
– Overeating
– Snoring
– Pauses in breathing during sleep
– Trouble falling asleep or with sleeping through the night
– Trouble staying awake during daytime
– Sleepwalking, nightmares, or bedwetting

If your child has one or more of the signs/symptoms above, then he or she could have a sleep disorder. It’s best to take your child in to see a pediatric sleep doctor who can properly interpret sleeping issues. Snoring, bedwetting, enlarged tonsils, or even a jaw joint disorder could be causing a sleep disorder like sleep apnea, but only a professional can properly determine this.

Sometimes a professional will refer a child for a sleep study which is one of the best methods of determining whether a child has a sleep disorder. During a sleep study, your child will be kept overnight at a clinic and specialists will observe your child’s sleep habits, sleep behaviors, and breathing. This information will help the professional with his or her determination.

Some common sleep-related disorders in children, like sleep apnea, teeth grinding, and jaw joint (TMJ) disorder, can be treated effectively with oral appliance therapy. It’s often a much better option over CPAP therapy (with a CPAP machine) which is quite uncomfortable for children. Oral appliance therapy uses a simple, comfortable mouth insert instead and can effectively treat the underlying issue causing a child’s sleep issues in the first place. We provide this solution here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders, and it’s approved by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Our pediatric sleep doctors here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders offer a program exclusively for children with sleep disorders like sleep-disordered breathing. The program is called KoalaKIDZzz®, and in the program, we can help children as young as two years old. We’re able to provide the long-term care and support children with serious sleep disorders need, and provide solutions like oral appliance therapy.

We’d be very happy to tell you more about the program, our treatments, and sleep disorders during a meet-and-greet/consultation with us. We can help you interpret your child’s sleeping issues, and treat them if we need to. Get in touch with one of our locations today. Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders has multiple locations in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin. You can visit our Appointments page to book with us at any of these locations, or you can call our head office.

We hope to hear from you soon and to help your child sleep much better!