Sleep Epilepsy Clinic

The Cincinnati Children’s Sleep Epilepsy Clinic specializes in treating kids who have epilepsy-related sleep disorders.

Epilepsy is a condition that causes regular seizures. Some children with epilepsy can have seizures while sleeping, which can cause breathing problems during sleep. Seizures can also disrupt the quality of sleep. Lack of sleep and breathing problems can also make epilepsy worse.

We take a comprehensive approach to treating your child’s epilepsy. Our goal is to find a treatment that reduces epilepsy symptoms and fixes related sleep problems. We specialize in:

• Sleep studies that include video recording and electroencephalogram (EEG) testing
• Comprehensive evaluation from a child neurologist with sleep medicine expertise; this allows us to read results from the combined sleep study and EEG accurately.
• Seamless collaboration between epilepsy doctors and sleep medicine specialists

Conditions We Treat

We treat kids with all forms of epilepsy, including:

• Generalized epilepsy
• Focal (partial) epilepsy
• Intractable epilepsy

We also treat sleep problems that may be caused by epilepsy treatments. For example, vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) treatment can sometimes cause breathing issues during sleep. We’ll work together with your epilepsy doctor to find a solution that controls seizures and helps your child sleep better.

Our Treatment Approach

We work with your epilepsy doctor to find a treatment plan that fits your child’s needs. This coordinated care helps make sure we can control your child’s epilepsy and fix related sleep problems.

Our team will create a treatment plan based on your child’s symptoms and epilepsy treatment. The plan may include:

• Adjusting the existing epilepsy treatment
• Medication
• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

What to Expect

If your child’s epilepsy affects his or her sleep, your epilepsy doctor or neurologist will refer you to our Sleep Epilepsy Clinic. Once you’re referred, we’ll schedule an appointment to meet with you and your child. We’ll learn more about your child’s epilepsy symptoms and sleep issues during this first appointment.

If you are undergoing treatment at Cincinnati Children’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, we’ll coordinate your appointment on the same day as your appointments with the epilepsy team.

After your exam with the Sleep Epilepsy Clinic, we may recommend a sleep study that uses EEG testing. This study uses video to record your child’s sleep symptoms and EEG testing to track brain activity. Your child will stay overnight at our Sleep Laboratory for the sleep study.

Once we complete the sleep study, you’ll come back into the Sleep Epilepsy Clinic to review the study results. Our clinic includes a child neurologist with sleep medicine expertise who can analyze the results from these combined sleep studies. This means you won’t have to bring the test results to multiple specialists.

We’ll use the test results to come up with a treatment plan and collaborate with your epilepsy doctor on the approach. Our team will also work with you to schedule follow-up appointments to check on treatment and your child’s progress.

Read about resources for traveling families.

Meet the Team

The Sleep Epilepsy Clinic brings together experts from child neurology and epilepsy who specialize in treating sleep disorders. Our team includes:

• Thomas J. Dye, MD
• Hansel M. Greiner, MD
• Michele M. Turner, MSN, APRN, CNS

Locations and Directions

Burnet Campus

Contact Us

Families can reach out to the Sleep Center for more information by filling out our online form.

All appointments are by provider referral. Providers can refer a patient to the Sleep Epilepsy Clinic by contacting us.