Effects of alpha rhythm-guided repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on sleep and quality of life outcomes in autistic children: A chart review

There is growing, albeit limited, evidence regarding the effects of alpha rhythm-guided repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (α-rTMS) on sleep and quality of life outcomes in autistic children within a clinical setting. Clinical charts, including the Children Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) and the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQLTM 4.0), were collected from participants before and after they completed nine sessions of α-rTMS. The pre-post data were analysed using paired Student t- tests. Data from the clinical charts of 36 participants (24 males and 12 females) aged between 3 and 17 years (mean (SD): 7.6 (3.5) years) were analysed. Among the participants, eight (22 %) and twenty-eight (78 %) were diagnosed with autism levels 2 and 3, respectively. The mean pre-post CSHQ analysis revealed significant improvements in the total CSHQ score (p = 0.035) and in specific subdomains: sleep duration (p = 0.035), night waking (p = 0.050), and daytime sleepiness (p = 0.026). Additionally, the mean post-total PedsQLTM 4.0 score showed significant improvement (p = 0.005), including in the emotional (p < 0.001), social (p = 0.018), and school (p = 0.019) subdomains. This study contributes to the growing evidence on the positive effects of α-rTMS on sleep difficulties and the quality of life of autistic children. Nonetheless, the findings should be interpreted cautiously until larger numbers of participants are studied within a robust study design. • Sleep difficulties co-occurring in autistic children are prevalent and significant. • Alpha rhythm-guided repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (α-rTMS) may be an alternative therapeutic option. • Autistic children who received α-rTMS showed improvements in sleep difficulties and quality of life. • Further robust study on α-rTMS for its translation into clinical practice is warranted.