How does your autistic child sleep?
| Back to Autism Information >> Next Topic | ||
|
Sleep has always been a huge issue in our house with our son who has an autism spectrum disorder. Really I should say, 'lack of sleep'. Ever since he was a baby we have struggled with sleep routines, wakeful nights and challenges with him getting to sleep. I found a really interesting report about a study that was done on the sleep problems of children with Asperger Syndrome. It offers some great insights and tips to help children with Aspergers sleep. Click here to check it out via the post on our blog and please share your thoughts on the topic. I'd love to hear other people's ideas. Cheers, Elissa
As a teen, I rocked plenty, but slept better, and would often sleep 7-10 hrs a day (not on a school day). Collage was difficult, I could not rock cause I had a roommate, and I did not want him to think I was weird, heh, but he did anyways. It took a few weeks, but I could sleep until the alarm went off. Now I work the night shift, but still get sleep during the day, until the afternoon. This summer was the worst I have ever had sleeping, it was hot, bright out and for some reason my mind was racing in a way I never experienced, at the age of 25 I am still experiencing new things, heh. I was taking sleeping pills and noticed that if I shortened the duration of my sleep and balanced it better, not only did I sleep better, but did not require sleeping pills. Now I sleep fine, and once summer approaches I will be having air-conditioning installed so I will be cool and sleep better. everyone is different, but thats my story anyways!We have had 2 full nights of sleep from "J" this year. Most nights he doesnt sleep longer than 4 hours without waking and I am often up at 2,3,4 am just plodding around the house or sitting at my PC until he tires again!  My son is used to sleeping in a sleepsuit which is like a sleeping bag with arms. He tends to wake if all the sheets have been pushed off and doesn't understand how to cover himself back up so the sleepsuit is back up. He also likes to sleep like an ostrich with his head facing down and in a crouching position into his pillow. He's never called out "mom" when he wakes which I wish he would! He just lies there and looks into space.... My ds has no sleeping issues ,goes to bed great sleeps all night,My little one(2.10,no dx ) is the one who is awake all hours of the night. Linda
Thanks heaps Norwaymum for the extra details on the sleep issue! I agree, it's interesting that kids with classic autism don't seem to have the same issues as the kids with AS. I'm wondering what people do with their kids when they are awake for hours on end during the night. I know I used to lie there with my son hoping he would just go to sleep, but I would obviously fall asleep before him at some point because I would never remember him falling asleep. Do people watch tv or do other things to keep themselves awake? Or are there any strategies to get your kids to go back to sleep when they really just want to play and talk at you? We use a night lamp these days in the hope that when our son wakes up he can keep himself occupied without calling out - never works though!
Dr wants to medicate our screamer, but I have been avoiding that discussion. Does anyone know what meds they might use and if they typically are really affective? Dr wants to med. her period because of her screaming fits at this time. :( I wonder if they want to give her an antipsychoic ( Spelling) medicine? this is just a guess. I would ask specifically what medication they want to use. My child did sleep better with Risperdal, but still will wake every morning at 3:00 no matter what the dosage he is using. The risperdal really helped for phobias and not thinking clearly for my son and sleep. I don't know how old she is? my son started this medication when he was 6, he would put hands on hot stove and not use the bathroom or eat anything but tuna and broccoli, and became nonfunctional at around 5 years of age. If you want to start a medication research it throughly and ask every question you can think of before starting it. Other things you can try, massage, weighted blanket, wrapping her up like a burrito in her blanket, deep pressure, singing. noise from a fan or music. I really feel for you, when you have a child that does not sleep it takes a toll on everybody. She is a beautiful child. Ryan sleeps pretty good. He and his twin sister go to bed at 8 every night. They used to share a room. Then Megan moved into her own room when they were 5. That took a couple weeks for him to get used to. Then going from toddler bed to a big twin bed was an even bigger adjustment. We ended up having to keep both beds in the room and just let him decide when he was ready to sleep in the big bed. He will sleep through the night. Sometimes getting up to go potty. Then I or DH have to get up and help him back to bed. But he's always been an early riser. Rarely does he sleep past 7. Gorgeous pics everyone! Hi sevenup, just wondering if you've ever thought about natural remedies or supplements to try and calm the screaming. We give our son vitamin and mineral supplements to help with his behaviour issues so maybe there might be something you could use to help calm her down. Just a thought anyway. (Gorgeous pic) By the way, I know it's off the topic, but can someone tell me how I get pictures up please? Elissa
Just host your picture like photobucket or something like that and put the img code in..  We weren't really sure about the meds for our son so we decided to look into some alternatives. We found a nutritionalist who specialised in childrens behavioural issues and he put us onto diet changes and the supplements. Our son takes a variety of things but fish oils (the omegas) seem to be the big one that calms him down. Even a natural therapist who specialises in childrens behaviours / health might be able to help (naturopath etc). ... and thanks for the tips on the photos!
Kane has never been a good sleeper, he would only go to sleep on the couch with me scratching his leg or arm, he would wake every 2 or 3 hours during the night sometimes waking up around 3 and staying up till 6am! but we have almost over come all this YAY! what we did was kept him up to 11pm every night no day sleeps and every time he nodded of i had to wake him up! water on his face throwing him in the air etc.. We put him to bed in our bed for the first week the next week we dropped his time to 10.30 no day sleeps etc we put him to sleep in our bed this week too then every week we dropped the time down by half an hour and by the third week i started to put him to sleep in his own bed i gradually moved out of the room took me about 4 weeks before i was out of the door! but now kane goes to bed at 7.30 most nights and falls asleep on his own (well with about 23 of his favourite trains and his thomas the tank engine book!) he sometimes wakes up in the night but have found if i quickly put him back in his bed i need to sit there with him for 5 mins and he goes back to sleep then he wakes up about 5.30 when my husband goes to work! he will come in my bed with me and if im lucky he will go back to sleep for an hour! Kane has a routine which he follows religously before bed every night brushes his teeth, reads his book, says good night to dad, turns the light off, gets into bed with his trains and fav book, kisses his trains good night then i have to give him 30 kisses we count them together and then i blow him a kiss good night and walk out! If i want him to have a day sleep now which he can handle i have to go through the same routine! we still have our bad nights with kane but they have gone from 6 out of 7 bad nights to about 2 out of 7 if that! YAY! hope this helps We tried melatonin last night for the first time - 1 mg of the fast dissolving under the tongue stuff. He awoke maybe 4 times and kept coming downstairs. He would pass back out down here, but we cannot give in to him sleeping down here. So upstairs one of us would carry him and that'd reawaken him. Around 4, I finally crawled into his bed with him. He slept until 630. I've read the fast dissolving stuff makes you konk out fast. The extended release keeps you asleep...I think the doc should have had us use the latter. Will try again tonight. By the way, there are only 2 clinical doulbe blind trials that show this to work and the pool of kids was very, very small. There are no long term studies on side effects, but the DELAY OF PUBERTY is one of the things mentioned in the literature. I also read something that said that if you start delivering the melatonin daily for months on end, then the pineal gland in the brain - which has been wussy in its production of melatonin in the first place - goes "huh. Guess they don't need me any more" and shrivels up. So, you end up with a life long dependence on the pill because the organ that makes the stuff has retired. The guy that wrote that was not a doc, so I don't know if that's his theory or what, but it makes sense to me. Anybody about to use this stuff, please read like mad on line and talk to the pediatrician. This is a hormone secreted in the brain, not just a Flintstone chewable. Delayed puberty? Shrunken pineal gland? Good grief, now I understand why it's a prescription drug here in Norway.DS sleeps incredibly well and a lot. He asks me to go to sleep sometimes. I think he gets really tired during the day from all the social interaction/sensory overload.Nowwhat Melatonin doesn't work for my son. We never had sleep issues until potty training started. He has this obsessive ritual we go through several times a night. I live on coffee. My guy has to get up -go pee in toilet , go back to bed, get on a new night time pull-up (after being wiped with a diaper wipe), get new socks on, pj bottoms back on-then a kleenex, then finally back to sleep. I am so burned out on this. I just made an appt with our developmental ped but he can't get us in until March. I feel like I've aged 10 years since last April when this all started. Also, his behaviors are much worse-probably due to lack of sleep for him. Laurie my autistic son sleeps with either me or his dad (in separate beds). just this week i have gotten him to go to sleep in the toddler bed with his little brother in the bed next to his, but, sometime in the middle of the night, he manages to find his way back to my bed because he is there when i wake up. most nights i don't have the energy to get them into the toddler beds, but i'm going to keep trying as best i can. even if i sneak out to the guest room in the basement, he will either cry, or sometimes find his way down there.harrypottersmom - we have had the sneaking out of bed thing in our house too! I can never understand how I can't feel a little body wriggling in beside mine until it's too late! (Probably because I'm so tired from lack of sleep!) Last night was nite 2 on the fast acting melatonin (just 1 mg). He passed out cold at 9PM, which is normal even when not on the drug. But he was up at 11:30 which is very early for his awakening. He staggered down the stairs, like he had the night before like 4 times and headed for the couch. Normally, when he comes downstairs, he's quite awake. The melatonin had him zombied. So last night, we got worried about him stumbling down the stairs and just tossed him into our bed down here. He slept until 5:30 with us. Will see what this evening's antics have in store. Very confused about going for time released melatonin instead of this fast acting stuff. At first it was horrible for the first 2 hours after we put him to bed. All he did was scream, kick the walls and his bedroom door.
But now for the last 2 months Thank God for Melatonin that stuff is our godsent. He gets tired out 1/2 hour after we give it to him. I even think he's been learning more ever since he's been on it. His vocabulary is just amazing. Now since he has more sleep he's more focused. J hardly ever sleeps. I put him to bed he screams off and on the whole night. I put a thing on his door at night to keep him in his room. (I don't need him falling down the stairs or drowning in the toilet etc.. He has already tried both) I hardly ever get a good night sleep because even in my sleep I can still hear him crying! I even wake up exhausted.T has the loudest and high pitch cry I've ever heard. Louder than his sisters. Mine T is loud!!!! Maybe a sign of a good singing voice? haha  I guess we are lucky. I read a lot of posts about sleep issues. We have lots of issues, but sleep is not one of them. Ds is in bed around 7:00 p.m. and sleeps about 11 hours straight. Ds gets a nice warm bath every night and realxing music in the whole house starting around 6:00 p.m. I do somethings that most people would consider no-nos (but they work for us). Ds still takes a bottle right before bed. I also rock him down to the point that he is completely limp. I've decided that these two no-nos are worth the few hours of alone time I get once he is down and a good night sleep. But I have concerns about both and am thinking about addressing them soon (especially the bottle) Thanks Woodsman25 for your insights - I think I might have to look at trying to make my son's room darker and cooler (might help the night sweats a little!) And Taytah, if there is one thing I have learned, it is to do whatever works and whatever makes our lives a little easier. I used to rock my son, and then as he grew I changed to back rubbing. Now I still have to sit with him for some time, but the changes to routine were a very gradual process.
KajoliT, I find it really hard some nights when my son is nowhere near ready for sleep and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open! My son likes to sleep in our bed with me when my husband is away and I find on those nights I don't get any sleep at all - he likes to 'stick' to. Thanks for the information Elissa, We have always had sleep problems with our son. Now that he is twelve and has a weighted blanket, he will sleep until about 3:00 A.M. When he was an infant he did not sleep more than 2 hours at a time in the night and did not sleep at all during the day, he was up from 6:00A.M. until 9:00 P.M. and did not nap at all during the day and was up about every two hours at night, this was until he was one, then he would take a 45 minutes nap during the day. And still got up twice a night. I think I have been tired for 12 years now.We used to have major sleep issues. Brendon would have meltdowns every single night and there was nothing I could do about it. We lived near a train track and the 2am train did it every time. I found my salvation though...it's a rocking recliner. B has been sleeping in one exclusively for 2 years now and sleep is much better. We still have our moments, but nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Before the recliner, he would sleep wherever he passed out which was usually on the floor. If I moved him...meltdown city. Jacob on the other hand is a snuggler. He sleeps 12 hours at night, but only if he's got something warm to snuggle up to. Sleep is a huge issue for my son also. He now gets to sleep great with melatonin but it doesn't keep him asleep. He's up for the day at 3 am several nights a week. If he makes it to 6am I am estatic. Sleep has been an issue since birth.IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee100/Mimom3/100_1580 .jpg[/IMG]
My mom made a weighted blanket from plans given on this website. I'm not a sewer, but she said it was easy. Just do a search for weighted blanket plans, and you should find it. It helps with early morning wake ups! He now sleeps easier. [QUOTE=Taytah]Ds still takes a bottle right before bed. I also rock him down to the point that he is completely limp. I've decided that these two no-nos are worth the few hours of alone time I get once he is down and a good night sleep. But I have concerns about both and am thinking about addressing them soon (especially the bottle) [/QUOTE]
My brother wasn't off the bottle until he was nearly 7, but we made it his choice... by watering down the milk a little more each night, and then he didn't want it anymore. Nick has no sleep issues and hasn't really ever had them. We started a routine as a baby, and just keep doing that, pajamas, teeth, bed. hugs and kisses, then he sleeps. He's an early riser, so he is tired at bedtime. Was a past issue for Daniel now he's the first to bed next to me. He takes his baths at night also. Daniel's main issue these days is his academics. He can do for himself for the most part. He even loves to cook. Daniel hated bottles we was nursed until 10 months.Its not getting to sleep, its night waking for Cole. Today, he got up at 2:30. Yesterday, it was 4 and day before it was 430. I have gotten to the point that if he comes down to our room, I change his pullup to ensure its not sogginess waking him, and go upstairs to another bedroom. My husband could sleep through the Super Bowl. On the 50 yard line. So, we never know if Cole drifts back off or not these days because DH eventually does. Sigh. Thinking about melatonin now. Or just stopping all TV watching. That's what I believe revs him out of the sleep cycles' shallow points. I haven't slept in 7 years! Wasted. No sleep issues here. He goes to bed at 8:30 and gets up around 7:00. When we put him in bed he's usually asleep within 5 - 10 minutes. C also wet the bed 2 - 3 times per week until right before his 6th birthday. However once we changed his pjs and the bed he would go right back to sleep. When he has to go in the middle of the night he goes to the bathroom by himself and then goes back to bed. currently caleb's sleep is erratic. some nites, he sleeps 12 hours solid and i am thrilled. he is three and i have stopped all napping. if he naps, he wakes up at 3am or 4 am or 5 am and is up for hours. i never lay him down for bed before midnite. ever. lastnite he fell asleep at 130 am. he woke up at 8. that is decent i guess. it takes caleb forever to fall asleep at nite. i have to lay with him until he passes out(which can sometimes take 10 minutes and other times take two hours), which is fine because i love the snuggle time except for the fact that i am forcing myself to curl up with him in his teeny tiny toddler bed. if he gets up too early he is a crabby patty for the whole morning. he wants the sleep, he just has a hard time getting there and is somehow awoken easily. rachel and caleb No sleep issues here either. My 3 year old likes to sleep in his sister's room, but that is the only "different" thing. They go to bed around 8:30 and wake around 6-7.Oh reading these posts made me want to add a few things. When we first got to our new home in Italy, we had a lot of 4 a.m. wake - ups b/c of the roosters. We live among the Italians (there is no base housing here). And everyone owns chickens, roosters, sheep, turkeys, peacocks ... etc .... B had never heard a real live LOUD rooster in his life. We combatted this w/extra white noise in his room, still have it every night. Ours too (them roosters be loud MFs)!! Also, we started not reposnding to the fact that he was awake and expecting us to respond. Dh and I made a pact not to go to him until 6:00 a.m. He eventually still had the 4am wake up, but would drift back off. Then eventually no 4am wake up at all (this took over 6 weeks). B does not nap anymore ... but has "quiet time" for 1.5 hours every day. If he somehow falls asleep during the day (which is quite rare) he will be awake until 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. With quiet time, I get the best of both worlds. A break in the day and an early bed time. I thank God I have a good sleeper, b/c we have tons of other issues to work on that need mommy on top of her game (and rested) every day. You parents that are sleep deprived have my condolances and best wishes. (I'm sure you all have read / heard that sleep deprivation was one of the earliest forms of mental torture).
We have no issues with sleep--never have. Phoebe goes to sleep at 8:30-9PM and wakes up at 7:30. I am having a problem with sleep we were giving him melitonin before bed and it was working great but 4 teeth fell out and molars came in now the bottom teeth are almost all in and he wakes up every night around 4. We do the bath and keep things as calm as we can. Help We don't have sleep problems now but we sure did for the first three years. I was so tired all the time. DD would wake up in the middle of the night and come and find me and then want to lay with me to get back to sleep. About six months ago I explained to her that if it was still dark outside she had to stay in her bed unless she had to go to the bathroom. That believe it or not worked; or least so far it has. She falls asleep with me on the couch and I put in her in her bed and she sleeps until I wake her up for school the next day. ttfn Parker has always been a pretty good sleeper. Sorry to those of you who don't get much sleep. That sounds really awful. I can't speak too soon though, you never know what will happen in the future. I'm not looking forward to night potty training. Yikes! He does freak when he wakes up a night though, and then it takes a while for him to go back to sleep. Luckily he likes books, so I can just give him a pile and he'll fall asleep.My older son has an autism diagnosis and has a hard time falling asleep. He says he has lots of thoughts in his head. He also wakes up in the middle of the night, but we discovered recently it is probably because he has to pee. He has been sleeping better since we started reminding him to pee before bedtime. Seems obvious, but we never made the connection before because he never said he had to pee. We just figured that he woke up for other reasons and followed his habit of peeing as soon as he got up. Anyhow, thanks for the link to the interesting article. I think it's intriguing that the autistic kids didn't show the same problems as the AS kids. I did some googling, and found that it was not actually the first study to look at AS and sleep. "One paper ventured an intriguing explanation of the phenomenon. A 2004 study from Helsinki University (Neuropsychobiology. 2004;50(2):147-52) examined EEG readings of 20 young Asberger’s Syndrome adults compared to their non-AS peers. “It seems that nonorganic insomnia, due to anxiety inherent in AS, is responsible for the low sleep quality in these subjects,” the authors concluded." Source: http://www.medopedia.com/asperger-sleep-disorders-linkages Here's the original abstract, which contains scientific jargon and didn't make much sense to me: http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?citationid=340 0
Today he got up at 330, never went back to sleep. Just talking and singing and laughing. Yesterday, 230, Monday 430, Sunday 400. Do they have to weigh 50 pounds before one can safely do Melatonin? I read somewhere that they have to be checked (when they're little) for some underlying condition, otherwise a seizure is possible. I know its unlikely, but when your baby spent the first 110 days of his life in the NICU, one tends to believe that medical anomalies do occur. My DH works 3rd shift, which if fortunate because my kid is a snuggler. He has a terrible time falling asleep by himself. He tucks his legs under my body and wants my arm around him. If i do this he is asleep in no time...trouble is I am too, and end up going to bed at 8pm...lol. Im thinking of trying a weighted blanket....I think the thing that helps him is the pressure of his legs under my weight, and arm around him. Lucky for me once he is alseep...he stays that way for the nite. We've been really lucky, I guess. Noah has always been a good night sleeper but stopped napping at about 18 months and NEVER ever falls asleep even when he's tired. Sometimes it takes him a bit longer to get to sleep, but since school has started we haven't had any issues. He goes to bed at about 8:15 and wakes around 7:30. He shares a room with his brother and they are both good sleepers. It seems to be harder to get him to bed in the summer since it's so light out until 10:30, but once he's asleep, a bomb could go off and he wouldn't wake up. |
||
|
Copyright Autism-PDD.net
|
