Most of us have heard about sleep apnea in adults, but did you know that children can have sleep apnea as well?

Pediatrician Emilio Del Valle explains that "Sleep apnea, initially in the older days we were talking only about adults so we started to look into children and we started to ask parents when children were snoring they would have bad days in school because they wouldn't sleep at night, they would toss and turn."

As was the case with 10 year old Kassidy Jennings. "Whenever I wake up either my K or D is knocked down off of the wall because I'm moving around a lot."

And during riding lessons Kassidy's horse trainer noticed some attention span problems, excessive tiredness despite an early bedtime and yes even some behavioral issues appeared. She's the one that mentioned that Kassidy should be checked for sleep apnea. "My horse trainer, who's also a nurse, said that I might have some symptoms. My mom has an appointment with my doctor so that I can get checked."

Dr. Del Valle says that unlike adults who are often overweight and have trouble sleeping, children with sleep apnea are a little more difficult to diagnosis. There are however some symptoms to look for. "Watch her when she sleeps. If she snores or not. Look at the size of her tonsils, if they're like this, in the middle, that's not normal."

And in children sleep apnea is usually caused from enlarged tonsils or adenoids obstructing their airway. Doctor's often recommend surgically removing them and then your child can get a good night's sleep.

Children with Down Syndrome are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea and should be closely watched for symptoms.