Sleep diary for kids

Why it helps

Sleep problems are common in autistic children, and “he sleeps badly” is hard to act on. Two weeks of shaded hours show the real pattern: how long it takes to fall asleep, how often and how long the wakings are, whether weekends are different. It is also the first thing a doctor or sleep clinic will usually ask for.

What is on the sheet

One landscape page with fourteen rows, one per night. Each row has the date, a 24-hour grid from 6 pm to 6 pm in half hours, a column for naps and one for what was different that day. Above the grid, the key (↓ into bed, shaded — asleep, ↑ up); at the bottom, a box for what you notice and a grey box for your guess.

How to keep a sleep diary

1. Fill in one row each morning, from 6 pm the evening before to 6 pm today.
2. Draw ↓ when your child got into bed, shade the time asleep, leave the wakings white and draw ↑ when they got up.
3. Write naps and anything different: illness, a trip, a late dinner, screens in the evening, a bad day at school.
4. After two weeks, look for a pattern and write your guess in the grey box — as a guess.

When to show it to a specialist

Talk to your child’s doctor if your child snores loudly, stops breathing or gasps in sleep, is very sleepy in the day, or if poor sleep goes on for weeks and affects the family. Bring the diary. Do not give sleep medicines or supplements without a doctor’s advice.

These sheets are for observations. They do not diagnose and do not replace your child’s doctor or specialist.