Disability in children can be broadly classified into physical and mental disabilities, and there are many conditions that result in this. Physical disability is often present in children with cerebral palsy or neuromuscular disorders. With mental disability, the children are not able to learn self-help skills and remain dependent on their caregivers for most of the activities of daily living. An extension of this group would include those with moderate to severe autism. In paediatrics, many conditions result in both forms of disabilities, with greater consequence and burden to their families. Nevertheless, there had been some recent advances in the management of the spasticity in children with cerebral palsy and the beginning of pharmacological treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Long term care and rehabilitation remains the most challenging task for all involved in the care of disabled children.

INTRODUCTIONSleep problems are common in all ages, but may be particularly acute in urban Singapore. This study aims to describe the sleep behaviour of, and to identify any sleep problems in, preschool children.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 372 children attending local childcare centers. The questionnaire was based on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), a validated parent-report sleep screening questionnaire that contains 54 items identifying sleep behaviours in children.

RESULTSA total of 372 (40.0%) children participated. The mean age was 4.1 (SD 1.3) years (range, 2 to 6 years). Average total sleep duration was 10.8 hours (SD 1.1) with average night-time sleep duration of 8.5 hours (SD 0.6) and average nap duration of 1.6 hours (SD 1.0). Co-sleeping was common; 80.9% of children shared a room with someone else. The most common sleep problems were in the domains of sleep resistance and morning behaviour; namely: requiring company to fall asleep (n = 272, 73.1%), being afraid to sleep alone (n = 228, 61.6%) and diffi culty in waking up (n = 165, 44.4%). Among parents, 84.1 % (n = 313) perceived that their child's sleep duration was adequate.

CONCLUSIONThe duration of sleep in the Singaporean preschool population sampled is signifi cantly lower than recommended values and that of previously described Caucasian populations. Parental perception of sleep adequacy deviates from current recommendations. Given the clear relation of sleep duration with cognitive functioning, learning, and physical growth, this sleep deprivation should be addressed with parental education and opportunistic screening of sleep in well-child follow-ups.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Habits ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence ; Singapore ; Sleep ; Sleep Deprivation ; epidemiology ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Urban Population

INTRODUCTIONThis study aimed to determine the sleep patterns and dysfunctions in children with learning problems in comparison against a local population-based sample.

MATERIALS AND METHODSParents of 200 children with learning problems and 372 parents of a local population-based sample of typically developing (TD) children were recruited to complete a questionnaire on their child's sleep patterns and sleep problems. The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) is a validated parent-reported sleep screening questionnaire that contains 54 items identifying sleep behaviours in children.

RESULTSThe mean age of the sample was 4.2 years (SD: 1.4; range, 2 to 6 years). Sleep duration was similar between the 2 groups. The difference in mean CSHQ subscale scores between children with learning problems and TD children was significant for sleep-disordered breathing (1.3 vs 1.2,= 0.001). Among children with learning problems, 36.5% snored (vs 26.6% of TD children), 30.5% had noisy breathing (vs 18.8%), and 9.0% (vs 4.6%) experienced difficulty breathing 2 or more times a week. Children with learning problems woke up in a more irritable mood (= 0.01), had more difficulty in getting out of bed (<0.001), and took a longer time to be alert (<0.001). They exhibited fewer behaviours of daytime drowsiness (= 0.009). Among this group of children, 15.0% of parents reported that their child had a sleep problem compared to 9.0% in the TD group.

CONCLUSIONSleep breathing disorders and symptoms of morning sleepiness are more prevalent in children with learning problems. Symptoms of daytime lethargy are similar between the 2 groups. We suggest that a simple outpatient screening targeted at these problems be instituted in the initial workup of any child with learning difficulties.

Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Irritable Mood ; Learning Disorders ; epidemiology ; Male ; Prevalence ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Sleep ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; epidemiology ; Sleep Hygiene ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; epidemiology ; Snoring ; epidemiology

The Academy of Medicine (AMS) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) have developed the clinical practice guidelines on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to provide doctors and patients in Singapore with evidence-based treatment for ADHD. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary (with recommendations from the guidelines) from the MOH clinical practice guidelines on ADHD, for the information of SMJ readers. Chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Ministry of Health website: http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/healthprofessionalsportal/doctors/guidelines/cpg_medical.html.The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Caregivers ; Child ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Methylphenidate ; therapeutic use ; Parents ; Psychiatry ; methods ; standards ; Singapore ; Societies, Medical