Kenneth J. Aitken is a practising clinical psychologist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is active among many charitable organisations and research initiatives dedicated to building a better understanding of autism spectrum disorders and related conditions, and has published numerous academic and popular articles on ASDs.

Acknowledgements. Introduction. Section A: Sleep and What We Know About It. Chronobiology. What are Biological Clocks? What is Sleep? Why Do We Sleep? Dreaming. What Changes Occur during Sleep that don't Occur at Other Times? Do Circadian Patterns Emerge as we Develop? The Brain at Rest. Is our Sleep Affected by What We Eat? Alcohol Consumption. Diet, Genetics and Brain Development. Social Interaction and Sleep. Infant Self-Soothing. Other factors that can affect sleep. How much sleep is normal? Do we need to sleep at all? What do we know about the normal range of sleep in childhood? What do we know about normal patterns of sleep? Section B: Sleep Problems in General. How sleep problems are classified. How common are sleep problems? Is it important that sleep problems are addressed? The Importance of Adequate Sleep for Brain Development. Section C: Sleep Problems in ASD. How common are sleep problems in ASD? Is it important to address sleep problems in ASD? Are there reasons why sleep problems should be more likely in ASD? Section D: Reasons Sleep Problems May Happen or Can be Made Worse. Maternal mood state and biology. The Neurobiology of Sleep. Diet, sleep and ASD. Metabolic and physiological factors that can be related to disordered sleep. Other factors that can influence sleep. Effects of sleep deprivation on brain growth and structure. CNS trauma. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Craniofacial Dysmorphogenesis. Obesity. Genetic Factors. Other genetic factors. Section E What Can You Do? Interventions - assessing the evidence. Treatment and management. Assessing the issues and doing a basic sleep clean up. General approaches to sorting out sleep. Specific types of sleep problem - what they are and what can work to sort them out. Conclusion. Resources. Useful web material. Associations and web resources. Test and treatment materials. Appendix 1 Medications Used in Sleep Disorders. What Are These Medications and How do they Work? Further General Sources of Information on Medication. Appendix 2 Complementary and Alternative Treatment Approaches. Acupuncture. Aromatherapy. Chiropractics. Dietary intervention. Exercise. Homeopathy. Hypnosis. Massage therapy. Meditation. Psychotherapy. Relaxation. Light therapy. Biofeedback. Behavioural and cognitive-behavioural treatments. Yoga. Appendix 3 Herbal Treatments. Western herbal treatments. Chinese herbal treatments. Japanese Kampo herbal treatments. Other herbal treatments. Appendix 4 Assessment Tools for Sleep Problems. Glossary. Further reading. Basic books on sleep and sleep disorders. Textbooks on sleep and related issues. References. Index.