Autism-World

Q:I have 2 autistic kids a 6 yr old and 3 yr old.My 3 year old is currently going through a phase where he doesant sleep until about 3 in the morning.Is there anything I can do?

Answer:

I have a three yr old with autism, and this has been one of our biggest issues. He didn’t sleep through the night until very recently. He still wakes up, but not as often and it’s because of nightmares. He now goes back to sleep. I am using three supplements from Melaleuca,and they’ve helped tremendously not just in the area of sleep but in all areas. The one I give him if he has insomnia is an anatacid combined with chamomile.

Autistic children typically have digestive problems and that will interfere with sleep, so I don’t know which is helping the most, or if it’s a combination of both, but it works! So, you can try giving them chamomile tea before bed. I tried with Tim, he didn’t like the taste, though. If yours aren’t sensitive to taste, then you’ll be ok. You make up a cup and add as much as they will tolerate mixed with juice, or whatever they like to drink. It is very frustrating, I know. My youngest is fine, and he was sleeping through the night at four months!

Also, being that most autistic children have sensory issues, try reading the book ‘The Out of Sync Child’. I just started reading it, so I don’t know all their ideas, but they should have some good ones. I think something I ran across said to stimulate them as much as possible a few hours before bed, then set up a bedtime ritual of taking a bath and going straight to bed. Good luck to you.

Technorati : autism

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 10:20 pm and is filed under Ask and answer.