Overview

Over the past 2 years, the APS and the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) have worked together to provide insomnia and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia (CBTi) education to over 2,000 Australian psychologists. This webinar forms part of a series  informed by feedback from psychologists on additional sleep education needs and specific areas of interest.

This webinar will provide information on the psychological management of insomnia and sleep difficulties in adult and paediatric clients with ADHD and ASD. Pragmatic recommendations on tailored assessment, diagnosis, differential diagnoses, and treatment of insomnia in clients with neurodevelopmental disorders across the lifespan will be presented. This webinar will include input from specialist ‘sleep’ psychologists and a sleep and respiratory physician with relevant expertise. It will also serve as an opportunity to provide feedback about future specific education activities related to sleep health management in clients with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., future webinars, articles, and interactive modules co-developed with the Australasian Sleep Association).

Level of Learning

Foundational. This activity is targeted to those who are new to the topic.

Duration of access

Access to the recording and presenter slides is for 12 months from the date of confirmed registration.

APS CPD-Approved

This activity has been assessed against the APS Standards for CPD activities and approved for its education quality. Learn more about the APS CPD Approval process.

CPD Frequently Asked Questions

Refer to the APS CPD Frequently Asked Questions for general and technical information when undertaking APS Professional development activities.

Related activities

Insomnia management in clients with comorbid mental health symptoms

Insomnia management in clients with comorbid sleep apnoea

Insomnia management in children

Activity details

On-demand webinar recording

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this webinar, participants should be able to:

• describe the prevalence of insomnia and sleep difficulties in adult and paediatric clients with neurodevelopmental disorders,

• recognise brief sleep assessment tools that can be used for clients of different ages, and

• outline strategies to treat insomnia and sleep problems in adults and paediatric clients with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Presenter(s)

Sarah Blunden, Jasneek Chawla, Kasey Fullwood

About the presenter(s)

Professor Sarah Blunden (MAPS, BAPsych (Hons), MSocSc, MClinPsy, PhD) holds adjunct roles at Central Queensland and Monash Universities in Australia has a dual role as Head of Paediatric Sleep Research and Professor of Clinical Psychology at Central Queensland University, and is a clinical psychologist in her private clinic specialising in the treatment of children’s sleep problems and related mental health issues. Sarah is the Founder/Director of the Paediatric Sleep and Psychology Clinic, Director of SensibleSleep and Sleep Education Centre in Australia (www.sensiblesleep.com.au). She is a member of the Education Committee, Behavioural Sleep Medicine subcommittee and Indigenous Sleep Health Special Interest group of the Australasian Sleep Association and on the board of the International Pediatric Sleep Association. With over 130 peer reviewed publications and 120 conference presentations, and has developed a Practice Certificate in this method for psychologists interested in sleep therapy for children (https://sensiblesleep.com/course/blunden-responsive-gemss-method/). Her research passions include the impact of poor sleep on development and wellbeing across the life span, sleep education, Indigenous sleep and health, and sleep interventions for young children.

Associate Prof Jasneek Chawla is a Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Specialist at Queensland Children’s Hospital, Brisbane and leads the Kids Sleep Research Group at the Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland. Her research interests include sleep in children with complex disability conditions. She is currently leading a multi-centre MRFF (government) funded study focused on improving the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders in this population. She also has a specific interest in developing novel diagnostic tools within sleep medicine and is part of a collaborative sleep research group in Australia undertaking a MRFF funded study to compare level 1 vs level 3 sleep monitoring for OSA diagnosis. Jas is currently president elect for the Australasian Sleep Association having previously held the roles of education chair and deputy conference chair. She is a strong advocate for children with disability and chronic illness, collaborating widely with many consumer representative organisations and individuals with lived experience through her research.

Kasey Fullwood is a PhD candidate with the Kids Sleep Medicine Group, based at the Centre for Children’s Health Research at the University of Queensland. Her doctoral research focuses on the development of evidence-based behavioural interventions for the management of sleep disturbances in children with neurodisabilities and complex medical conditions. With specialised knowledge in paediatric sleep disorders, Ms. Fullwood has a particular interest in tailoring sleep treatment approaches for children with multifaceted health and behavioural needs.