Hi
I have a 7 yr old that for the past 3 years on and off will not go to bed alone OR stay in his bed all night. He has gone through many different stages of this on and off. For instance he has in the past gone bed fine at night but will always wake up and want to sleep with someone (parent)many times through out the night. Or now recently AGAIN, he will not even go to bed. He is absolutely terrified! He wrings his hands, distorts his face and you can just tell he is so distrought. It is a horrible thing to watch, it breaks my heart.........but then it also gets us so mad that we end up losing it and getting mad by the time we reach 10:30-11pm and he is still coming out of his room.
A little more info relating to this:
He is on meds for ADHD that are working great.
He sleeps with his 4 yr old brother (bunk beds)-does not want his own room.
We have 3 other kids - so it's rough when it starts to get loud at night w/crying and being scared.
We have seen therapsits and Dr's - so far no real help with this.
Tried Melatonin, benadryl and sleep med from Dr.--none worked
My husband always ends up sleeping with him on our futon in the family room at night.
We have tried our best to be as consistent as possible bringing him back to his bed over and over but that is really hard when you are woken up several times a night and you don't want to wake the other children (with cries of his fear).
My husbands job has been affected by this. And also our family life!
We've tried to talk with him about the fears he has and solutions to help it.
I really just don't know how to handle this. I hate seeing him so upsest. It goes way beyond the "I'm scared phase".
If anyone also has any good PEDIATRIC therapists recommendations for the Cary/Raleigh/Durham area I would appreciate that too!
OK, Thanks!
*EDIT* The Dr. precribed sleep meds were before he was on the ADHD medication. Only recently have we tried the melatonin, etc. He has only been on ritalin for about 1.5 years, this sleep problem has been going on 3 years+.
If you are near UNC, get on the list to be seen at the psychology dept. They are great. Sounds like you might try having him on a track or swim team. The workouts are great, and he will be energy exhausted, and hopfully ready to sleep. I have a 32 yr old adhd, and she was followed at UNC for years. I feel for you all and for him, and yes, it is a family disease.
Poor guy and poor parents. Maybe something has caused him to be scared to sleep in his room and he may not even be able to verbalize what it is.
A couple of thoughts come to my mind.
Check out Developmental Therapy Associates (DTA) in Cary or Raleigh and get a complete evaluation from them and see what kind of therapies they think might help. He might have a sensory integration dysfunction that causes him to be distraught over sleeping alone. Weighted blankets might help.
Check out ADHD yahoo groups and get ideas/support from a bunch of moms with experience in this area.
Avoid red food coloring in his diet as that makes my son and many others to become hyper and emotional.
Oh, I forgot to recommend Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). It can be very calming for kids especially.
http://www.newagefast.com/EFT-emotional_freedom_technique...
http://www.emofree.com/ - has free video and manual
http://www.tapping.com/ - offers a great free cheatsheet
http://www.newagefast.com/EFT-test-anxiety-sleep-own-bed....
http://search.emofree.com/search?q=children&entqr=0&a...
http://search.emofree.com/search?q=children+anxiety+sleep...
Good luck.
You may want to look into the Lucy Daniels Center in Cary.
http://www.lucydanielscenter.org/
Hello S., I am surprised that a doctor has not mentioned that the main and common side effects of the most prescribed ADHD meds is insomnia and restlessness. The scared part probably comes from him feeling like he has no idea why his body is feeling that way, plus he's exhausted. Do a google and you can see for yourself, it's easy to find. I also am surprised about giving him sleep meds on top of the ADHD medication, I would be very skeptical of a doctor that recommended sleep meds for a child on Ritalin or adderall. This is a 7 year old child and his body is interacting with all of these strong medications. Good luck.
Hi Susan,
As far as a pediatric therapist, I have heard very good things about Dr. Reem Utterback. I know she does work with children as I do know someone that went to her for her daughter and then also saw her herself as to the feelings of dealing with that situation with her daughter. So you could always call and see about meeting her before making up your mind.
Good luck,
D.
I agree with Susan U. He is only 7 years old and on so many medicines!! This can't be good for any child. I think that doctors are taking the easy way out nowadays and just prescribing people all ages with any drug to make them calm and "feel good". There has to be side effects when these kids get older. My brother in law is on adderall at age 26 and he stopped b/c he almost killed himself behind the wheel of his car b/c it makes you so "relaxed". Wow I am scared for these kids
Susan,
I feel your pain. My son is 10 years old and I have battled his sleep problems since he was about 9 months old and could crawl out of his crib. My son is also ADHD and has been on meds since he was in Kindergarten. When he was about 4 the doctor put him on a clonadine (sp?) to help him sleep but was taken off when he was 6. He also at the age of 3 or 4 would have nightmares that would wake him up screaming and always had to sleep with me. Very frustrating. He was put on seraquil about 5 months ago to help with the sleeping since he has at least 1 or 2 nights a week that he does not sleep at all. I am finding that the doctors are trying to counter act the Adderall XR (ADHD). The Adderall works great for his school performance but then he can't sleep. The nightmares and waking up stopped when he was about 8 but I still have to wonder what he does when he stays up all night. Hang in there and no that you are not alone.
Wow! I dont' have an experience with this but do you know what specifically he's afraid of? I used to be afraid of the dark and it would come and go. I went to bed with my light on and my dad would come in and turn it off after I was asleep.
If it's being away from you that upsets him, is there any object he could hold at nihgt or a monitor he could have in his room to assure him that Mommy and Daddy can hear him at all times and that nothing could happen to him?
Another thought - has he seen anything on TV before these episodes that would pop up in his dreams?
