Why are they Waking up at 2 AM?

Research suggests that roughly 50% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder experience occasional or frequent middle-of-the-night awakenings. These wakeups aren’t just exhausting for families, they directly affect learning, behavior, emotional regulation, and overall progress in ABA. This presentation will offer a clear, behavior-analytic framework for understanding night wakings, including key assessment questions, how to identify common sleep dependencies, and when to consider medical or ethical factors. Attendees will learn practical, evidence-based strategies they can use immediately to help families reduce night wakings and build sustainable, independent sleep skills.

1. 11. Describe the relationship between chronic middle-of-the-night awakenings and reduced progress in ABA, including impacts on learning, emotional regulation, and behavior.
2. 22. Identify common sleep dependencies and explain how these dependencies contribute to disruptive nighttime wakeups.
3. 33. Apply behavioral strategies to systematically fade sleep dependencies and promote independent nighttime sleep within an ethical, family-centered framework.