Screen / Test Your Child / Teen for Major Pediatric Sleep Disorders:

Bed-Wetting

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Insomnia

Narcolepsy

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder

Restless Legs Syndrome

Sleep Talking

Sleep Terrors / Night Terrors / Nightmares

Sleep Walking

Snoring

Teeth Grinding

Sleep Apnea
Sleep Disorders - Keyword Definitions
Cataplexy
Cataplexy is a medical condition and symptom often occurring in individuals who have narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder with principal symptoms of EDS (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness), sleep attacks, cataplexy, and disturbed or disrupted nighttime sleep. The word “cataplexy” stems from the Greek words kata, meaning down, and plexis, meaning a stroke or seizure. Cataplexy appears as muscular weakness that can range from a barely perceptible slackening of the facial muscles to more obvious dropping of the jaw or head, weakness at the knees or arms, to a severe total collapse of the body onto the floor. If it occurs in the facial muscles, the speech is slurred, or vision can be impaired (double vision, inability to focus), but hearing and mental awareness continue to be normal. Cataplexy attacks only occur when the person is experiencing strong emotions such as excitement, anger, fear, surprise, or laughter. These cataplexy attacks can be very harmful if frequent or severe because these persons often have many accidents when they suddenly fall and hit their head, break bones, or if they are operating electrical or mechanical equipment such as a car. For this reason, if the cataplexy is not stopped by medication, people with narcolepsy cannot drive a vehicle. Cataplexy is treated with various drugs, such as Xyrem or Sodium Oxybate, which stops these cataplexy attacks. Cataplexy is sometimes confused with epilepsy, where a series of flashes or other stimulus may cause collapse. However, they are two completely different medical conditions. If you have concern that your child or adolescent may have cataplexy or Narcolepsy, you can go to www.Sleepdisorderhelp.com and do a “Screening by Parents” menu for your child. It is quick, easy, and will give you a report that tells you what you can do if there is a high probability that you child/teen has Narcolepsy. This is a serious Sleep Disorder that is successfully treated with medication, but should never be ignored by parents due to the harm that can occur to your child/teen both with physical injury caused by cataplexy attacks and the negative effects that narcolepsy’s Excessive Daytime Sleepiness has on academic and behavioral performance.
Central (Sleep) Apnea
Central Apnea has a neurological cause and occurs when the part of the brain responsible for controlling breathing doesn't tell the body to breathe or continue the breathing process. It is a common occurrence in premature infants, but it is fairly rare in children and adults. The most common form of apnea is Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). An example of central apnea might be a short pause that occurs following a deep a sigh. While sleeping, the cardiovascular workload is at rest under normal conditions. Breathing, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels continue to be regular and hold constant in a healthy person during sleep. Any sudden drop in oxygen or excess of carbon dioxide (even if tiny) robustly stimulates the brain's respiratory centers to breathe. However, in central sleep apnea, the basic neurological controls for breathing rate malfunctions and forgets to give the command to inhale, causing the person to miss one or more cycles of breathing. If the stop in breathing is long enough, the percentage of oxygen in the blood stream will drop too low and the concentration of carbon dioxide will build to a higher than normal level. As a result, these conditions will have significant damaging effects on the body. Brain cells must have continuous oxygen to live, and if the level of oxygen in the blood falls too low for long enough time, it results in the grave consequences of brain damage or even death. Fortunately, Central Sleep Apnea is more often a chronic condition that causes milder effects and usually doesn’t result in death. However, even this mild condition may cause a child or adolescent some academic delays or behavior problems caused by Excessive Daytime Sleepiness. It is not unusual for Central Sleep Apnea to exist together with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. If the two exist together, it is referred to as Mixed Apnea. If you have concerns that your child or adolescent may be exhibiting some form of apnea, you can quickly and easily screen your child for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (which is the most harmful form of apnea) by clicking www.Sleepdisorderhelp.com and choosing the “Screening by Parents” menu. This screening will tell you whether your child/teen is scoring in the “High Risk” or “Caution” ranges of having apnea, and what you should do to help your child/teen if s/he scores high.
Circadian Rhythm Cycle – and Disorder
Humans have Circadian Rhythms, which are biological rhythms controlled by an internal clock that works on a daily time schedule. Due to the circadian clock, the drive or need for sleep follows a cycle, and the body should be ready for sleep at the same time each evening and for wakefulness at the same time each morning. A Circadian Rhythm is approximately a 24-hour cycle. Individuals with Circadian Rhythm sleep disorders are unable to sleep and awaken at the same time each day, which can ruin the person’s ability to fall asleep at the necessary time in the evening in order to get enough sleep to awaken on time for normal work, school, and social needs. Typically, they do not get enough sleep if allowed to sleep when they want and are tired in the morning or need an afternoon nap. Unless they have another sleep disorder, their nighttime sleep is of normal quality, but not long enough to feel refreshed and alert in the morning. Circadian Rhythm sleep disorders are “jet lag”, “shift work”, and most common in adolescents is Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS). Teens with DSPS have difficulty falling asleep at night and waking up in the morning in time for school. These students are often tardy for school, or sleep through their early morning classes, or even skip school frequently, resulting in them getting behind academically and making poor grades or dropping out of school. There are many interventions the parent can do with their child/adolescent to stop DSPS and turn around their academic performance. If it sounds like your child/adolescent may have DSPS, you can go to www.Sleepdisorderhelp.com and click onto the “Screening by Parents” menu and complete an inventory that will tell you what your child/teen’s probability is of having DSPS and what you can immediately do to correct it.
Clonadine
Clonidine is an anti-hypertensive agent that works on the central nervous system. It was developed to lower high blood pressure. Recently, it has been used to counter the side effects of stimulant medication, such as Ritalin, which may cause insomnia in children. Clonadine is less addictive than many prescription sleep aids. Because of the above effects, Clonidine is increasingly used in combination with stimulant medication to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD and taken in the late afternoon or evening for sleep. It may also decrease impulsive and oppositional behavior that is typical of ADHD and reduce tics that can increase with the use of stimulant medications. However, if you child/teen was experiencing sleep problems (such as resistance to falling asleep, snoring, choking, or gasping in sleep, kicking and rolling around in sleep, irritable and difficult to awaken) before taken Ritalin or other Stimulant Medications, your child/teen may have a Sleep Disorder causing the ADHD-like behaviors, which is usually very correctable. You can screen your child/adolescent for the major sleep disorders in children and teens by going to www.Sleepdisorderhelp.com and clicking onto the “Screening by Parents” menu and proceeding to complete the Sleep Disorders Inventory for Students. Why put your child on stimulant medication and/or clonadine for their lifetime when there may be an existing sleep disorder that is correctable. Once the sleep disorder is corrected, these children’s ADHD characteristics almost always lessen or disappear completely, often negating the need to take stimulant medications or clonadine.
 
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