RE: Sleeping Problems

[Guest guest]

Since sleep problems have come up again I thought I'd throw my two

cents in here. We have battled the bedroom fear over and over again with my

daughter. The way we conquered it was to slowly move her away from our bed

toward her room. She hadn't slept in our bed since she was a baby, but we let

her sleep on the floor next to it on a sleeping bag (she doesn't sleep IN

anything, only on top). We gradually got her sleeping just inside our bedroom

door, then just outside it, then a bit down the hall, etc. until she was

comfortable in her own room. We do occasionally find her out in the hall

(face down in the carpet, no blanket, no pillow - looks like a bad horror

film) but that's rare, and she doesn't wake us up unless she's had a

nightmare. Obviously we did this very, very gradually.

I think that nighttime fears can be addressed as another OCD

problem. Getting a child to beat that fear is a very big success for them,

and ultimately pretty important for a social life (sleep overs, etc.) I think

the hardest part of dealing with it is that we, as parents, feel cruel trying

to pull children off of us at bedtime. I'm not sure it's any " crueler " than

having a child touch a contaminated surface though.

Just my opinion!!

[Guest guest]

Many children with a phenol intolerance

have trouble sleeping, you might look into that.

- Julee

http://discoveringnathan.blogspot.com

From: AutismBehaviorProblems [mailto:AutismBehaviorProblems ] On Behalf Of Abby

Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 9:15 PM

To: AutismBehaviorProblems

Subject: Sleeping

Problems

My son is 2 1/2 and has not slept throught the night

since I had him.

We have tried various things ie: weighted blanket, brushing. I just

recently tried melatonin and it did nothing. He is 30lbs and I have not

found any dosing information on this medication. So far the most he has

gotten was 2.5mg which we were told was kinda high but it did nothing

for him. Does anyone know anything about this. We are all sleep

deprived. I know that some of his attitude would improve if he could

sleep better.

[Guest guest]

When you say the melatonin did nothing for

him, do you mean he didn’t get to sleep easier, or that he went to sleep

but didn’t stay asleep?

Below I am re-posting a message I posted

earlier this month with some other suggestions for sleep issues…

The other thing is that for some kids, the

melatonin will only work well if after giving it you can get him in a quiet,

somewhat dark environment…either take him into his room and put him down

or rock him, or turn the lights down and keep the noise level very low in the

living space while the melatonin has time to work. It should make him

sleepy within 30 minutes but will not keep him asleep…I mentioned that in

my past message too, you’ll see below. The melatonin dose of 2.5 wouldn’t

really worry me…

I’m sure you’ve heard it a

million times but it bears repeating, especially at his young age, that a

really consistent bedtime routine followed every night can work wonders. We

made a picture checklist for bedtime – I can send you a copy if you like,

as an example, and we just went down the list in order….dinner, bath,

jammies, snack/drink, 2 stories, snuggles & a lullaby, go to sleep…

Good luck….I hope something

helps. When my son was 3.5 yrs we started using melatonin 1mg and

fortunately it worked like a dream for us…it literally changed my life as

far as the level of stress in the evening, and he did sleep better, because his

problem was getting to sleep, not staying asleep.

Feeling your pain…

Dora in WA State.

From: Dora Lattish

Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 11:19

PM

To: 'AutismBehaviorProblems '

Subject: RE:

Medications for sleeping

You might ask your doctor about Clonidine

in small doses…that has helped our son a great deal.

Melatonin will not keep you asleep –

it is a hormone that regulates our internal clock, so taking it as a supplement

replicates what happens when a typically functioning brain does when it is

night time and we’ve been up all day – it makes you sleepy, telling

your body to rest. But it is out of the system very quickly. It is

a great get-to-sleep help for most anybody…

On the non-medicinal side, here are a

couple other things to consider –

--Can he sleep with his room completely

dark? If so, go for it – studies show our brains produce more melatonin/sleep

hormones when in total darkness (like our long ago ancestors had). So if

he can go without a nightlight and with heavy curtains blocking outside light,

that might help.

--If he is very sensitive to sounds, try

white noise or a small fan in his room at night – that has done wonders

for my 8 year old’s night waking – he just a few months ago was

able to convey to me that he “always hears when (baby brother) is

crying and it just wakes me up!” and another time mentioned the swishy

noise from the washing machine…I kind of went “Duh! –

he’s a light sleeper and the sounds are interrupting his sleep!” so

we started shutting his door all the way and either playing a white noise

machine or running a small fan at night.

--If he has a high need for deep pressure

at other times, a weighted blanket is worth trying. Again, we finally got

one for our son earlier this spring and he loves it – he wants me to help

him make sure his entire body up to the neck is covered by his “heavy

blanket” before I leave the room. He feels secure and it calms him

greatly. We ordered ours from dreamcatcher blankets and I could not be

more pleased – the owner is very knowledgeable about the health benefits

and safety considerations, and my favorite thing is that the pellets she uses

are washable and dryable, and sewn permanently into the blanket…this

means the entire blanket can be washed and dried when necessary, in case of bed

wetting or throw-up, etc. Plus, no pellets get out!

--If he has an OT or someone who can help

you figure out his sensory needs, they may be able to tell you whether he would

respond better to a firmer or softer mattress topper or pillow.

Sometimes a combination of these things

can make a big difference… no matter what medicine you take or

don’t take… I figure whatever it takes for him to have quality

sleep is going to mean more quality sleep for me and we’ll all be better

off for the investment!

Good luck to the family –

Dora in WA State

From: AutismBehaviorProblems [mailto:AutismBehaviorProblems ] On Behalf Of ourscuba

Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 4:09 AM

To: AutismBehaviorProblems

Subject: Medications

for sleeping

Presently 6yr old boy with severe Autism has been

taking 3mg of

Melatonin. Unfortunately he still is waking up 3-4 times a night.

This family has also tried the liquid Melatonin which can be given

during the night but there was no improvement with his sleep.

Does anyone know of any medications that may help?

Thanks,

Debby.

[Guest guest]

My son is 7 and we used 5 mls which we found made him really drowsy the next day - so we will drop it to 4 next time (we use it as and when needed as he goes through patterns of not sleeping)

Sleeping Problems

My son is 2 1/2 and has not slept throught the night since I had him. We have tried various things ie: weighted blanket, brushing. I just recently tried melatonin and it did nothing. He is 30lbs and I have not found any dosing information on this medication. So far the most he has gotten was 2.5mg which we were told was kinda high but it did nothing for him. Does anyone know anything about this. We are all sleep deprived. I know that some of his attitude would improve if he could sleep better.