OT -- Puzzling bedtime behavior

March 13, 2001

Hi folks:

I'm hoping somebody can shed some light on a new behavior my 4.5-year-old

son has been showing the last two nights.

Normally, he has no trouble whatsoever going to bed and getting right to

sleep (his problem has been either waking during the night or waking very

early in the morning.) He gets his pacifier, his blanket and his special

bear, curls up and is asleep in a matter of minutes. He's done this since he

was very young -- say three months old or so.

Last night, my husband took him up to his room -- did nothing different --

and our son started to cry when hubby left the room. After several minutes

of guessing what was going on (his language is very limited at this point),

we figured out that he wanted someone to lay in bed with him, holding him

very tightly. Once he was asleep he was fine; he slept all night and later

in the morning than usual.

Tonight was more of the same. He was fine as long as I lay in bed with him,

but became distraught if I moved to get up.

I'm a bit baffled about this. He's always been so easy to go to bed that

we've taken it for granted. Now I'm wondering -- could this actually be a

GOOD thing -- is he finally showing age-appropriate separation anxiety, or

fear of the dark? Is he afraid to go to sleep?

As far as I know (and he's home all day with me) we've had no slip-ups in

the diet lately.

What do you all think I should do? My husband is afraid he will become too

used to having someone lay with him and won't be able to go to sleep by

himself -- he favors letting him " cry it out. "

Personally I don't think there's any way that will work, plus how can I

deny my autistic son when all he wants is for me to be with him??? Isn't

that what we wanted from this diet anyway?

Anyone with advice or a similar situation, I'd love to hear it!

<--mom of Hannah, 6 and Asperger's Syndrome, and Collin, 4.5 and

autism.

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