Aspergers/ASD support thread

Eliza_2

Again this is no comfort but I can sympathise. My son never seemed to need to sleep, even as a baby and I frequently was in bed before his light went off (though of course he generally fell asleep with the light on!) So much so that when his sister came along I was really worried that she slept too much when in fact she was just getting the 'normal' amount of sleep.

Strange thing is that my son's son is just the same, doesn't need that much sleep though did go to bed earlier once school kicked in, and even more so now he's just started secondary school.

My son also doesn't seem to have a need to drink much either, I found I had to deliberately give him drinks of water, especially in summer - and now his son is the same. They just don't seem to recognise thirst but then wonder why they feel faint in hot weather. Whereas his sister knew when she was thirsty as I imagine most people do.

Some kids - and adults - are just like that! Mine aren't autistic or anything - just awkward! Sadly they don't do things to suit us and I can completely sympathise with your exhaustion.

Doing things like sharing sleeping shifts with my husband and those sorts of solutions, I'm sure you've thought of all those.

Liz

Absolutely

Eliza wrote: »

Some kids - and adults - are just like that! Mine aren't autistic or anything - just awkward! Sadly they don't do things to suit us and I can completely sympathise with your exhaustion.

Doing things like sharing sleeping shifts with my husband and those sorts of solutions, I'm sure you've thought of all those.

Liz

Unfortunately my husband couldn't cope and left years ago. Sigh. Everytime he has the children (3 hours every month), I get a text shortly after saying (about the child I'm talking about) "he's hard work". Errrr, yes, he's hard work. Try doing it 24/7!!

I agree with your comment... "Some kids are just like that". I guess I just needed a little rant.

Thanks

melancholly

no advice to give - just sending a virtual hug and some moral support. sounds like you're staying remarkably sane despite the lack of sleep!

munchings-n-crunchings

I had help from CAMHS to sort my daughter's lack of sleep out.
It took time, but eventually we got there.
10 years on, she still needs very little sleep, but uses the time constructively

I kept a sleep diary for several weeks, recording what time she went to bed, how often she was up in the night and how long for, and what time she got up.
From that, it was worked out an average for how much sleep was needed.

I think it was 6 hours. So bedtime was set at midnight, and getting up was 6am-regardless of if she was awake or not.
The theory is that they should fall aslepp within about 20 minutes. After a couple of weeks, the bedtime was brought forward by 10 minutes, and so on, till she was having more sleep.

What type of Melatonin was it? There are 2 types.
Timed release or Non timed release.
The timed release doesn't work for my daughter, she needs the big hit of Melatonin all in one go. You could also ask about a different strength.

Regards
Munchie

sarlyka

A lot of children and adults with autism have unusual sleep patterns. Melatonin is often prescribed. Munchie's idea of a sleep diary is a good one. Once you've identified your son's main sleep pattern, set up a bedtime routine around this. Some practitioners recommend starting the bedtime routine straight after the evening meal with winding down activities (not too much TV or computer screens etc as these tend to stimulate rather than relax) followed by bath, brushing teeth, story etc. You will need to stick to the routine and work towards getting your son to stay in his bed even if he doesn't actually sleep. Cerebra have a Sleep service so it may be worth contacting them. http://www.cerebra.org.uk/parent_support/support/sleep_service/sleep_service

munchings-n-crunchings

It's said that some children with autism don't produce Melatonin, or produce it at the worng times. It's the substande that tells the body 'I'm tired, it's late and it's time to go to bed'

Needless to say, us parents are shattered and really want to crawl into bed.

As with anything, it takes time, perseverence and being consistant.
It doesn't work, if the little darling is fast asleep at their given wake up time, and you decide to leave them and make the most of some quiet time.

We had a laminated bedtime routine up on the wall, and so my daughter was involved in the process.
We did get some strange looks, when she told everyone her bedtime started at 11.15 and in bed for 11.45. Eventually, I go bedtime to 10.30, and that's where it's settled.
I found story CD's a good investment, and there are lots of great childrens stories available.

Munchie

sock-knitter

my identiacal twin boys never needed much sleep either, but one is much worse than the other at sleeping, melatonin ensures he sleeps for approx 6 hours per night

raq

If a child has a delay in speech , language and communication issues, child is 4 1/2 and he has come across the scale as a 3 1/2 year old would you automatically presume he has a very mild autism??

It is me or whenever i type in autism in google it is quite scarry as to so much information.

shegirl

No I wouldn't automatically presume he has autism.Probably because I have an autistic son (severe end) and know more about it than people passing in the street who have bizarre ideas!

raq

shegirl wrote: »

No I wouldn't automatically presume he has autism.Probably because I have an autistic son (severe end) and know more about it than people passing in the street who have bizarre ideas!

oh thanks for the quick reply. Having a very low day yesterday as we are waiting on the doctor to go to the nursery to see how my son is doing. he is going to reception september. my hubby doesn't think he has autism. he has always stated that YES it is slightly behind from the rest of his peers and unfortunately for us, if doesn't enjoy what they are doing in nursery he will just walk away and play with things that he wants to play with.

we also have a 6 year old and 10 year old who are fine. also he adores talking ( trying his best bless him ) and playing.

keep beating myself up a lot lately and maybe looking into this too much.

mind me asking ( sorry ) how old was your dear child when they dignosed??