Structured Clinical Interviews In Tulsa Help Screen Children For Sleep Disorders

There is a new tool to screen sleep disorders in children. The structured clinical interview was developed by Mollie Rischard, Ph.D., working with both the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa.

The structured clinical interviews have been used to screen adults for multiple sleep disorders for some time, but it has now been adapted for children as well.

During a structured clinical interview, clinicians will be able to ask children and, in many cases, a parent questions about sleep.

Dr. Lisa Cromer, a psychology professor at TU said there are common symptoms for many sleep disorders and non-sleep disorders.

Dr. Cromer said this tool allows clinicians to test for many sleep disorders at once instead of having to test for different sleep disorders individually.

"We were finding that there’s multiple different instruments you would have to use to try to detect different sleep problems. And so this is a comprehensive instrument that actually does it all with one single interview, rather than a clinician needing to access six or seven different sleep measures," Dr. Cromer said.

Dr. Cromer said when it comes to sleep, identifying a sleep disorder in a child is extremely important because of the impact sleep can have on a child's well-being.

"We know that when people are sleep deprived, there’s lots of research with children and the teenagers that their learning is impaired. And so getting enough sleep means their memory is better. Their concentration is better, and their mood regulation is better," Dr. Cromer said.

Clinicians can also use the structured clinical interviews to determine if cognitive behavioral therapy or a medical intervention is needed for something like a sleep study.

Anyone can reach out to the University of Tulsa's study line at 918-631-3242 to learn more to see if they qualify for a free sleep assessment.