I was wondering what you other moms do if you have children that have difficulty going to sleep and staying asleep. Last night my son wasn't just up till 11pm, he was awake like all night! He wants to play musical beds, wants juice, just yells at me, etc. Driving me crazy! I try melatonin which his Dr. said is fine, and it helps sometimes... but what do you do? I usually put him in bed and let him watch his TV for a while, then i hope he gets tired, but he doesn't. He's been on different medications that didn't help. I need peace and he needs sleep to function and behave! I'm mostly looking for answers of what you give your child if you've had a serious problem with them going to sleep. He's not on a special diet as of right now, we can't do that option but he also doesn't get a lot of sugar either. Any medicines your Dr. has prescribed or homeopathic remedies that help? Thanks for any advice!
Thank you everyone for you kind replies... i'm trying the epsom salt and are looking into other things as well. The Dr. prescribed Clonidine, which i think is helping we'll see. I will be looking into all of your advice. Thanks again,
I.
Hi I., we have a sone with autism and he literally did not sleep until we got him a Nikken bed...that is the truth! Then he started catching up on all the sleep he had missed for years. It made the most incredible difference in his cognative understanding...You can read all about it at www.HelpStopAutism.com
Karen
I recently did emi- electro meridian therapy. In order to balance the 12 bodies meridians. I used acupuncture to treat my points, but they can stimulate with electro magnetic impulse. One thing that did come out of this is my insomnia is GONE! Was not looking for a cure for that, but the doc said it is the most easily treatable problem for this kind of therapy. I have a gal pal that used acupuncture to treat her daughters sleeplessness and it worked miracles. Good luck and happy sleeping!!!
Hi I., have you tried a Naturopathy Dr. who will treat holistically? My daughter 22, got to the point where she couldn't sleep for 3 days without a sleeping pill. The ND helped with several issues including reestablishing her circadian rhythm--sleep/wake cycle. She has not taken a sleeping pill in 2 months. She will have suggestions about the his other issues as well. There are no painful tests and the NDs office is not intimidating. If you want more info, I'll be glad to give you her name/number. I have sent several people to her and they love her as well. Good luck. C.
I am not a teacher, but I worked with many Autism children in the Waco School District. I attended clinics at Region 12 Center, in Waco,Texas, that were especially for autistic chidren and parents who had difficulty dealing with certain issues. I found it very helpful in dealing with and understanding the chidren better. God Bless you and your family.
I wouldn't use the tv. It probably stimulates him. Try soft music that he likes.
Do you have a regular night time routine? Kids with behavior problems and other disorders thrive on routiness. Also, watching tv tends to stimulate children's brains, so maybe try taking the tv out of his bedroom and not allowing him tv time at least an hour before bedtime.
Alot of kids I work with use Clomodine. The only side effect is that the kids seem to build up a tolerance and the medication has to be readjusted. But many many parents say this is the only medication that helps. Ask your dr.
Hello I.,
My step-daughter had problems sleeping and we were advised to have her drink warm milk before bed. To read or color before bed. TV stimulates the brain with the rapid eye movement and therefore interrupts healthy sleep.
Also, as an energy practitioner, I would suggest calming your child by calming his stress response by using simple energy techniques such as smoothing behind the ears.
Directions: Begin by tracing around the ears by starting at the corners of the eyes, smoothing around the ears
and down to the shoulders, tracing on both sides
of head simultaneously.
Repeat six (6) times, while taking relaxing breaths.
Additionally, holding the forehead and back of the head for 3 minutes, may also calm your child as it also calms the stress response.
If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me at ###-###-#### or visit my website: http://www.capitalregionwellnesscenter.com/practitioners/...
Warm regards,
A. Mincsak Bordelon
Unfortunately, or fortunately since it's med-free, the only thing I've hear that works for behavior and sleep is dietary intervention. Many spectrum kids respond really well to a gluten/dairy free diet and/or the specific carbohydrate diet (which is alot of loving work). These days gluten is such a problem for digestion (with celiac disease and spectrum kids) that MANY items that can be purchased from the regular grocery store labeled gluten free. I've heard good things about cod liver oil as well. Good luck mama, hang in there!
As many others have already mentioned, diet is extremely important. As you may know, many children with autism have multiple allergies. Try eliminating the main allergy triggers. Start with dairy the first week. I read an article in Parents Magazine about a child who had autism and his parents took him off of dairy and they noticed a significant difference the very first week. In their case, their son processed dairy like a haulecenigenic drug. Second week, eliminate wheat and track if you notice a difference. Immidiately, eliminate as much sugar as possible and no sugar substitutes. Also, no TV, especially after 6 p.m. TV is a stimulant. This may sound strange, but ask your doctor if he/she can refer you to someone who can test your son for excess heavy metals in your son's body (requires a hair analysis ususally from the back of the neck). Also, you didn't mention vaccines. I hope you have stopped them at this point. If you have had your son vaccinated, did you notice any difference in your son's behavior after a specific time? In addition to mercury, there are also other metals in vaccines. If your son does have excess heavy metals in his body, there are a couple of remedies. Oral chelation therapy is an approach that is gaining strong support. I have even read that some parents have had success with intravenous chelation therapy ("new child"), although it is more controversial. I honestly believe a holistic health care provider can significantly help you. Lastly, do you have a supoprt group in which you are a member? If not, seek out a group that can encourage you and support you and your son. Good Luck and God Bless! I will pray for you and your family.
hi I., i also have a son authism and adhd. have you tried massage his his whole body including head with lotion or baby oil,beore bed time, excerise to 2 hrs fefore bed time to get rid of hyperness. try to make his room dark and cool( fan or ceiling fan). put calming music (try target they have music that has river flowing,birds churping ect.)maybe see dr. at sant rose clinic, that deal with adhd.###-###-#### . ask for dr.deal with adhd. good luck to you and your precious son!! god bless!!
I'v been where you are and at 10 years old, my son still struggles with sleep. What has helped the most for him, and he is on meds for ADHD, is to give him 2-3 Tryptophan about an hour before bed. There was a time when we had to give prescription mild tranquilizers (Abilify) but he has gotten better as he got older and as his daytime meds increased. It seemed that when we were at a high enough dose, it helped his brain to calm down and sleep at night. It's not perfect my any means, but it has rendered some help for him to get more sleep. Good Luck with it, I know it's frustrating. I also give my son daily high doses of the Omega-3 and fish oils in hopes that it will help with other things.
Just a funny, when my son was 3, I woke up at 4 in the morning to walk into my livingroom and find that he had stuck all of the kitchen knives into the sofa cushions!!! He was just playing "build a castly". There are many stories like that for me. Always laugh to keep from crying and pray for patience. And keep talking to your Dr about it.
I.-I work with Autistic children as a profession and find this is a problem for many. At this point, a sensory diet of some type might help-trampoline, weighted blanket-things that can slow down his motor so he can fall asleep. If you have access to an OT-ask her/him for suggestions.
L.
My son would stay up all night if I let him, and probably then some. I told his pediatrician that noone in the house could sleep because of him. He would go to bed late and wake up at the crack of dawn again...every day. Also, my son is ADHD/ODD. She perscribed a 0.1 mg tablet of Clonidine. Nothing had ever worked for my son..but 30 minutes after he took it he was OUT. He didn't fight it or anything. Ask his pedi about it. My son's younger than yours so your doc may perscribe him 0.5 but I don't know. It's so worth it!!
Many many parents have found relief from the symptoms of autism by going on a Gluten Free, Casein/Dairy Free diet. There are entire sites dedicated to this, as well as testimonials on how it has helped families as a result. Jenny McCarthy has an autistic child and has been very active and helping families better understand and adjust. Try www.gfcfdiet.com. If your doctor hasn't recommended you try this, you may want to look for one who is more in touch with recent information on the topic.
As for sleeping, we all go through phases of insomnia and sleep issues. Kids are no different. I am surprised you have a TV in your child's room, however. Most experts say that's a no-no, and studies have shown that it impacts sleep. That may be a good place to start.
Good luck.
