Pediatric Sleep-Disordered Breathing (Blau -Online)

Course overview

Pediatric sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is an often-overlooked cause of many functional and behavioral concerns in children and adolescents. Insufficient sleep and impaired sleep quality can interfere with speech and language development, neurocognitive function, craniofacial and upper airway growth, as well as overall health and well-being. Insufficient sleep and impaired sleep quality can interfere with speech, language, neurocognitive function, craniofacial and upper airway growth, and development, in addition to overall health and well-being. More than a quarter of all children may suffer from some form of SDB, with up to 5% having the more severe subtype, obstructive sleep apnea. Since speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are often involved early in the assessment and treatment of communication and swallowing difficulties in the pediatric population, they are uniquely positioned to screen for sleep problems in these children and make timely referrals when appropriate. In this course, clinicians will learn the signs and symptoms of SDB, understand the deleterious consequences of SDB, gain a deeper understanding of the importance of early intervention for SDB, and be able to integrate routine SDB screenings into their assessment protocols, incorporating evidence-based screening tools to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of pediatric and adolescent SDB.