Sleeping

Hello my son has been wakening every night now for the last lot of weeks.  He wakes screaming and very annoyed. He ranges from having to get up at say 4.30 and then back an hour or so later to just being able to peacify him in his bed by lying in with him.  He got his diagnosis in September but I dont really know if this is related to Autism.

Please advise a tired mum.

Lyn

 

  • This work for my son.

    The Weighted Blanket improves your sleep quality by stimulating every relevant pressure point on your body and help it relax in full comfort.

    What is a Weighted Blanket? And How Do They Work?

    The Weighted blanket offers proprioceptive or deep touch pressure (DTP), also called Deep Pressure Therapy (DPT), to the body. 

    Does a Gravity blanket help you sleep and lower anxiety? Yes, it DOES! 

    In a  2008 study published in Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, data obtained on effectiveness reveal 33% demonstrated lowering in EDA when using the Weighted blanket 63% reported lower anxiety after use, and 78% preferred the weighted blanket as a calming modality. 

    The use of a Gravity Blanket has been expanded to include people with mental health diagnoses like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ADHD, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Study participants reported feeling safe, calm and grounded following weighted blanket use. 

    Research indicates the potential positive effects of a Weighted blanket use for reducing anxiety, lowering physiological indicators of stress (blood pressure, pulse rate), positive calming effects, and impacts on sleep time and behavior. 

    Weighted Blanket

  • hi.I am a mom of 3 year old son and he is newly diagnosed with ASD. he was having same problem.he wakes in middle of the night and stay awake for 3 to 4 hours. it was happening quiet often almost 3 to 5 times a week.

    one day he sleep on a double pillow and slept through the night.it works for him

    now every night he is having double or higher pillow (may be it's not good for his neck) but he sleep through the night.in 10 days he woke up once in midnight time.

    it's working on him.

    also having banana b4 one hour going to bed is good

  • hello, i have a little boy he is 22 mnths old and we are in process of diagnosis, my little boy doesnt sleep much he has between 4-6 hrs sleep a night he stays awake and mess's up his bedroom, he does the screaming and i dont know why he also bang on the walls n breaks objects in his room such as he toys, drawers pretty much anything he can reach. I really dont know what to do any suggestions please.

  • hi

    i know excatly how your feeling i  have twins my daughter has 5mg of melatonin and 4.5ml of alimemazine but she still wakes up through the night and wakes up early then my two sons suffer as she screams the house down she keeps them awake most the night.

    Maybe have a chat with your gp or health visitor about it xx i was toatlly against gving my daughter medication for her lack of sleep but 2 and a half years of it i had no choice as we were all suffering from having no sleepx 

  • Hi, 

    My son is 5 and was diagnosed in August with autism.  He has always had to sleep with me and will not sleep on his own.  He has never woke up in the middle of the night screaming, but some nights it is very hard for him to go to sleep.  He will make continous motor sounds or finger movements before he can fall asleep.  Most of the time he has to be stroking my arm or feeling my skin as well.  When he was little he would get on his knees and have to rock back and forth with his head touching the wall before he could fall asleep.  I guess that is a sensory thing. I created a website for my son. It talks about the daily challenges we face.  I am hoping to get support from other parents that deal with this disability everyday!

  • i would assume that it is related to asd as my son who has recently been diagonsed and my daughter who is going through an assessment both have difficulties sleeping although my sons sleep patterns have got better since he started taking respiderone...

    my daughter has been prescribed mellatonin (she takes one before bedtime) but she still has terrible trouble sleeping..sometimes it could be 2 or 3 o'clock before she goes to sleep...or if she does drop off early she seems to wake early any time between 4 and 6 o'clock...so the tiredness i can very much empathise with

  • Hi Lyn,

    Just wanted to move this discussion over to the 'parents and carers' section to help other people see it.

    You may also want to take a look at our factsheet on sleep issues, if you haven't already, to see if anything rings a bell there -

    http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/understanding-behaviour/sleep-and-autism-helping-your-child.aspx