Kiran Maski, MD, MPH: Addressing Pediatric Sleep Disorders

“We definitely rely on a team-based approach with academic liaisons to help with the return back to school, and with 504 plans or individualized education plans to help facilitate the management of problematic daytime sleepiness in a school setting.”

Sleep disorders can be a challenge for both patients and physicians. Conducting sleep studies is difficult and time-consuming, and many of the therapeutic approaches for these patients require a multidisciplinary model to fully address the condition at hand.

For Kiran Maski, MD, MPH, director, Sleep Clinic, Boston Children’s Hospital, and assistant professor of neurology, Harvard Medical School, these challenges are coupled with the challenges in treating children. Maski and colleagues have treated a number of sleep disorders in pediatric patients, including insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and even narcolepsy.

In a discussion with NeurologyLive, she offered an overview of the patients that she sees at Boston Children’s, as well as the comorbid conditions which can accompany these disorders. Maski offered insight into how she and colleagues address the management of these patients and how a team-based approach, including even a cognitive behavior therapist, is utilized.