P029 Examining the Efficacy of Two Apps on Sleep and Anxiety in Children with Autism

INTRODUCTION: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently experience a range of comorbidities alongside their condition. Particularly, sleep problems and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent, and often co-occur. The present study aimed to determine if using a mindfulness app before bed could reduce overall anxiety and improve sleep quality in children with ASD. METHOD: Twelve children aged 7 to 12 with an ASD diagnosis participated in a blinded two-week controlled trial testing the use of two apps before bed. Children were allocated to the experimental mindfulness app or the active sleep melodies control app via counterbalancing. RESULTS: Results of 2x2 mixed model ANOVAs revealed significant pre-post improvements in both apps for parent-reported sleep problems (p < 0.05), and a significant interaction effect for parent-reported pre-sleep arousal (p <0.05). Simple main effects analysis of the interaction results revealed that these differences were due to significant improvements in the active control group (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION: Potential reasons for significant improvements in the active control group may have been due to the personalised choice of sounds/melodies for the active control app, or difficulty with the comprehension of instructions in the mindfulness app for ASD children. Overall, these results provide preliminary evidence of the general benefits of using apps to aid with sleep in children with ASD.