The Good Sleep Guide for Neurodivergent Kids - by Melisa Moore (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A compassionate, science-backed guide to improving sleep in children and teens with ADHD, autism, and other neurodiversities -- written by a renowned pediatric sleep expert who is also the parent of a neurodivergent child.

When pediatric sleep expert Melisa Moore realized her son was neurodivergent, she already had a decade of experience helping families navigate sleep issues -- but nothing had prepared her for the reality of managing sleep in her own household. The advice she had learned felt too rigid, unrealistic, or simply ineffective for kids like hers. What she needed was a different kind of guide -- one that blended evidence-based science with real-life parenting wisdom and offered support without judgment.

The Good Sleep Guide for Neurodivergent Kids is that guide: warm, practical, and rooted in clinical knowledge. Moore brings together her decades of professional experience and research with her personal journey as a mother of a child with ADHD and autism to offer a radically compassionate blueprint for improving sleep in neurodivergent children and teens.

Readers will learn how to:

- identify the unique biological, sensory, and behavioral sleep challenges common in neurodivergent kids
- develop flexible, personalized routines that prioritize consistency and connection over perfection
- use communication strategies that actually work for kids who think and experience the world differently
- assess the pros and cons of medications, supplements, and alternative therapies
- safeguard their own rest and mental health, too

With humor, validation, and true empathy, Moore breaks down the myths of sleep training and redefines "healthy sleep" for neurodiverse families. This is not another set of unrealistic rules or one-size-fits-all solutions. It's a toolkit for finding what works -- for your child, in your life, right now, even if it doesn't look the way anyone told you it should. As Moore shows, good sleep is possible, and her book will get your family there.

Review Quotes

"Whether you're reading this at 9 pm after bedtime or at 2 am in the quiet (or not-so-quiet) dark, you will find practical guidance and genuine understanding. This combination of expertise and lived experience is the reason Dr. Moore has helped thousands of families and the reason this book will give you and your family the gift of a good night's sleep."
-- from the foreword by Jodi A. Mindell, PhD, associate director of the Sleep Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and bestselling author of Sleeping Through the Night: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep

About the Author

Melisa Moore, PhD, is a clinical psychologist board certified in behavioral sleep medicine. She currently works for the Sleep Center at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego / Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) helping to develop their behavioral sleep medicine program. She also has a practice in the Los Angeles area working with children, teens, and young adults across the country for a variety of sleep and mood issues, specializing in neurodiversity. She previously served on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania and was the Psychosocial Director of the Sleep Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She lives in South Pasadena, California. Jodi Mindell, PhD, is the cofounder of the Sleep Center at CHOP and bestselling author of Sleeping through the Night.