Acompanhamento psicológico de criança com problema de sono: um relato de caso

Difficulties with sleep are frequent in the pre-schooler children. The aim of this study was to present a case report of behavioural intervention by parental guidance to sleeping problems in a pre-schooler child. Participated in this study a four years old boy that had difficulties to sleep without the presence of his parents and his mother who was oriented through a parental program. The program of intervention was composed by five sessions in which the mother acquired education about the child’s sleep, received orientation about the establishment of time and routine to sleep and about the use of techniques (extinction and positive reinforcement) for the improvement of the sleep difficulties. The sleep and behaviour were evaluated in four periods (pre-treatment, post-treatment, one and six months follow up) according to the following instruments: 1) UNESP Scale of Habits and Hygiene of the Sleep – Children Version, 2) Scale of Sleep Disorders for Children and Teenagers, 3) Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1,5-5) and 4) sleep diary. The results showed that after intervention the child developed independent sleep, reduced the bed resistance and showed improvement in daily behaviors. To conclude: a behavioral intervention by parental guidance was effective to sleep problems of the child.