ASAP Pathway stands for “Airway, Sleep, and Pediatrics”. We are here to make sure your child can get the right treatment for pediatric sleep disordered breathing. Pediatric sleep disordered breathing is a lot like adult sleep apnea and snoring but diagnosis and treatment for kids aren’t always the same. When a child has sleep disordered breathing, they experience pauses in breathing while they sleep and are unable to get the oxygen they need to get a good night’s rest, grow, and be healthy.
When we sleep our bodies do the essential job of restoration for the next day. Our brains store new information that we gained throughout the day and rid themselves of toxic waste. Nerve cells that support healthy brain function communicate and reorganize, and our bodies repair cells, restore energy and release molecules like hormones and proteins. Without sleep, our bodies and brain won’t function properly.
This is especially important for our children. Sleeping at night sets them up for success the next day and every day. The importance of pediatric sleep disordered breathing is often overlooked and therefore goes untreated because sleep apnea is thought to be a disorder unique to adult men. This preconceived notion is absolutely false. More than a quarter of children suffer from sleep disordered breathing and up to 5% have the severe form—sleep apnea. There are a couple of different types of sleep disordered breathing.