# Mention your child's snoring

Published by Pawel Jozefiak. [About this project](https://adhd100.jock.pl/about/), [How we check sources](https://adhd100.jock.pl/methodology/)

- Canonical: https://adhd100.jock.pl/sleep-breathing-check/
- Language: en
- First published: 2026-09-29
- Evidence checked: 2026-09-29, using AI-assisted source verification
- Clinical review: Not clinically reviewed
- Number 24 of 100 in the list: https://adhd100.jock.pl/#sleep-breathing-check

Tell your child's clinician about snoring or pauses in breathing during sleep, so they can be checked.

**The number:** ADHD evaluation should screen for sleep apnea ([American Academy of Pediatrics (Pediatrics), 2019](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7067282/))

## The evidence

- How sure: Certainty of evidence: Guideline advice, not formally graded. Measured in people with ADHD.
- Evidence grade: A. Grade A: moderate or high certainty evidence in people with ADHD, or an explicit ADHD guideline recommendation.
- Basis: AAP 2019 ADHD guideline key action statement 3 (Grade B: strong recommendation) to screen for comorbid physical conditions including sleep apnea, plus ADHD sleep-disordered breathing reviews and NHS sleep apnoea guidance.
- Benefit: 70/100. The benefit score is an editorial prioritization for the general list, weighted by certainty. It is not a prediction of what will happen for you.

## Why it matters

The American Academy of Pediatrics guideline says an ADHD evaluation should at least screen for physical conditions such as sleep apnea. Reviews find breathing problems in sleep are more common in children with ADHD, and the NHS notes children can get sleep apnoea too. Checking doesn't mean the ADHD diagnosis was a mistake. It makes sure a treatable sleep problem isn't missed.

## How to do it

1. Note any loud snoring, pauses in breathing or gasping you've noticed while your child sleeps.
2. Describe how your child seems during the day, including tiredness that a full night in bed doesn't fix.
3. Ask the clinician whether your child's breathing in sleep should be checked.

## Talk to a clinician first

Snoring alone does not diagnose sleep apnoea. A clinician needs to assess it, and breathing pauses with marked daytime sleepiness need prompt review.

## Putting it into practice

### Start now

- 1 minute: Recall whether you have noticed your child snoring, gasping or pausing while breathing in sleep.
- 5 minutes: Write down the breathing signs and how your child seems during the day.
- 15 minutes: Listen at your child's door for a few minutes after they fall asleep, then note what you heard for the clinician.

### What it looks like

- Tell the clinician that your child snores most nights and still seems tired despite a full night in bed.
- Mention that you have heard your child gasp or pause while breathing in sleep.

### Common mistakes

- Snoring alone can't diagnose sleep apnoea. Ask for an assessment instead of guessing.
- Blaming all daytime tiredness on ADHD can hide a sleep problem. Describe both.

### Trusted how-to guides

- [Sleep apnoea](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sleep-apnoea/), NHS

## Sources

- [Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7067282/), American Academy of Pediatrics (Pediatrics), 2019 (Tier 1 guideline)
- [Sleep apnoea](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sleep-apnoea/), NHS, 2026 (Tier 1 guideline)
- [The impacts associated with having ADHD: an umbrella review](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1343314/full), Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2024 (Tier 2 study)

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General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you. Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.

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