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COVID-19 Updates: Visitor Guidelines, Vaccines & More

Safety Measures at Riley Children’s Health

We are taking thoughtful steps to ensure our spaces remain safe for patients, parents and caregivers. View safety measures, mask policy and visiting guidelines.


COVID-19 Vaccines

The COVID-19 vaccine is available to anyone 5 and older. People younger than 18 must receive the Pfizer vaccine. To schedule an appointment, call 211 or visit ourshot.in.gov. Several COVID-19 vaccine locations also offer walk-in appointments. View full details.

Actualizaciones de COVID-19: Políticas para visitantes, vacunas y más

Medidas de seguridad en Riley Children's Health

Estamos adoptando medidas reflexivas para garantizar que nuestros espacios sigan siendo seguros para los pacientes, los padres y los cuidadores. Vea las medidas de seguridad, la política de uso de mascarillas y las directrices de visitas.

Vacunas contra la COVID-19

La vacuna contra la COVID-19 está disponible para cualquier persona mayor de 5 años. Las personas menores de 18 años deben recibir la vacuna de Pfizer. Para programar una cita, llame al 211 o visite la página ourshot.in.gov. Varios centros de vacunación contra la COVID-19 atienden sin cita previa. Vea todos los detalles.

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Riley Children's Health

Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program

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The Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Riley at IU Health provides specialized, individualized care for children newborn through 18 years of age. We target behavioral and psychological factors that contribute to the development or persistence of sleep problems. Our focus is to help your child fall asleep and stay asleep by addressing problems that disrupt sleep or keep him or her from getting enough sleep.

Symptoms or problems treated by the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program include:

  • Problems falling asleep or staying asleep (insomnia)
  • Bedtime refusal
  • Nighttime fears or anxiety
  • Nightmares
  • Difficulty with transitions such as from the crib to the bed or from the caregiver’s bed to the child’s bed.
  • Poor sleep habits
  • Sleep time disorders (circadian rhythm disorders)
  • Sleep terrors or other parasomnias
  • Difficulty in consistent use of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy for sleep apnea

We work with you and your child to identify factors contributing to sleep disturbance and develop an individualized treatment plan. Your child will receive care from a licensed psychologist certified in behavioral sleep medicine by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. This psychologist works in coordination with other members of your child’s healthcare team, including the primary care doctor, developmental or mental health therapist, sleep doctor and other specialists.

Your child will receive a thorough evaluation that includes a questionnaire and an interview if he or she is old enough to participate. While the evaluation focuses on behavioral and psychological factors that disrupt sleep, it also includes screening for other sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. To diagnose sleep problems and monitor progress over time, you or your child may be asked to keep a daily sleep diary. Your child may also wear an actigraphy wristband for a week or two to measure sleep patterns. Worn like a watch, an actigraph provides a 24/7 record of when your child is asleep or awake. Though a sleep study may be performed, they are often not required for behavioral sleep difficulties such as insomnia, because a child's sleep pattern is often different at home than in a sleep lab.

Behavioral sleep treatment tends to be brief, usually from two to six sessions, and is highly focused on sleep. If other mental or behavioral health problems are identified as part of the evaluation, we may recommend that your child also meet with another mental health professional. As part of our program, we offer behavioral sleep treatment approaches that include:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)
  • Behavior plans to encourage children to cooperate with changes or recommendations
  • Child-focused skills training to manage fears and/or anxiety
  • Infant behavioral sleep approaches to encourage independent sleep
  • Strategies to make changes in sleep habits, schedules, environment or pre-sleep activities
  • Light therapy and scheduling changes for circadian problems
  • Chronotherapy to help reset your child’s sleep clock
  • Imagery rehearsal therapy for frequent nightmares
  • Biofeedback therapy

Biofeedback uses computer-based software and sensors on the skin to show changes in the number of heartbeats per minute depending on activity or relaxation. Your child can learn to relax at bedtime by using this system in our office and doing the exercises we provide for practice at home.

If your child has been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, the sleep doctor may recommend a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask. Our specialists will provide assistance to help your child adapt to wearing this mask each night.

Conditions & Services

Conditions Treated

Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.

  • Circadian Rhythm Disorders
  • Insomnia
  • Parasomnias
  • Sleep Apnea

Services Offered

We offer a number of different Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program services. Below are some, but not all, of the services that we provide. If you have a question about a specific service that is not listed here, please contact our program.

  • Sleep Study

Doctors and Locations

Doctors

Learn about the skills and specialties of our sleep medicine doctors and the family-centered care they provide.

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    Locations

    Locations

    In addition to our primary hospital location at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis, IN, we have convenient locations to better serve our communities throughout the state.

    IU Health Sleep Disorders Center

    4.7 out of 5 stars (333 ratings)
    Score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized NRC Health Patient Experience Survey.
    Learn About Survey

    11590 N Meridian St
    Carmel, IN 46032

    317.944.9650

    Get Directions

    View location information

    Riley Sleep Medicine

    575 Riley Hospital Dr
    Indianapolis, IN 46202

    317.948.7208

    Get Directions

    View location information

    See all facilities →

    Program Forms & Resources

    Program Forms & Resources

    The Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Riley at IU Health provides the following forms for parents, healthcare providers and personnel. We have also curated relevant resources from other websites and provided links with brief descriptions of the information that is available.

    Forms

    • Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire: Younger than age 3 (Riley at IU Health) 34.066 KB

      Please complete this questionnaire before your child's first appointment.

    • Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire: Ages 3 and older (Riley at IU Health) 38.469 KB

      Please complete this questionnaire before your child's first appointment.

    • Adolescent Sleep Log (Riley at IU Health) 212.046 KB

      This sleep log will help your child's doctor better understand your child's sleep habits and patterns.

    • Sleep Diary (Riley at IU Health) 197.494 KB

      Your child's doctor may ask you to fill in this sleep diary and fax it the Sleep Medicine Department.

    Resources

    • The Bedtime Routine (Riley at IU Health) 175.715 KB

      Learn tips to create a bedtime routine that will work well for your child.

    • Gradually Removing Parental Presence (Riley at IU Health) 282.61 KB

      Learn strategies that will help your child gradually transition from sleeping with you to sleeping in his or her own bed.

    • Bedtime Fading (Riley at IU Health) 205.854 KB

      Bedtime fading is a strategy used for children ages 3 and older who regularly take longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep. Learn more about this strategy and how to use it at home with your child.

    • The Bedtime Pass Program (Riley at IU Health) 205.928 KB

      The bedtime pass program is for children ages 3-10 who often get out of bed or call out after bedtime. Learn more about this program and how to use it at home with your child.

    Related Departments

    Related Departments

    We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related departments.

    • Pediatric Pulmonology & Respiratory Care
    • Sleep Medicine

    Health Professionals

    For Health Professionals

    The sleep medicine specialists at Riley at IU Health work with you to provide advanced diagnosis and treatment for your patients. Through ongoing research, we develop leading edge therapies that improve patient care.

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    Refer A Patient

    Riley at IU Health works with referring physicians in Indiana and beyond.

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    Education

    As faculty members of the Indiana University School of Medicine, we help train the next generation of pediatric pulmonologists and sleep medicine specialists. Our Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship Program provides post-residency training in an atmosphere of mentorship and collaboration, and our sleep medicine fellowship is the only program in Indiana accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

    Education Resources:
    • Medical Students
    • Residents
    • Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship
    • Sleep Medicine Fellowship
    Riley Children's Health Indiana University School of Medicine
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