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Sleep

RachY

Morning all.. not sure if this is the right area so please let me know if not.. we have a beautiful 4 year old daughter who was diagnosed with ASD 2 years ago. We have never had any issue with sleep (very lucky, i know), if anything she was a model child for this.. however, this week she has started to wake up at 3.. not just wake up for the loo, but wide awake ready to start the day!

has anybody else experienced this? is it an autistic thing, or just a phase for a 4 year old? should it make any difference how i handle it, being autistic or not?? i am trying to be really patient with her given that it may be more than a phase.. just so hard to tell!

Rx

 

  • My son has Aspergers..and he has never slept...he can survive on 2 hours a night...he goes to bed to sleep at around 4am and then about 6-7am he is awake....so for MY own health and sanity I now let him to bed at 4am while I sleep...he doesnt leave his room (unless he needs the loo that is)....but my son is 13 and knows the house rules...it was a nightmare and battlefield when he was younger...he would go to sleep about 4am and wake at 6ish i would have to sleep with him so i only got about 2 hours a night...but when my older daughter was old enough she took turns to sleep with him so i could catch a break...

  • I experience the same with our son.   What we have done is removed all stimulus from his room, in effect no toys, low level lighting, black out blinds.   He goes to bed at 7pm and he knows the rules are no out of bed.  It took a couple of weeks to get that into his head mind you.  So no matter what time he wakes or is awake to he is aware that it is not appropriate play time or awake time.   We also got him a clock (mothercare) which has an orange light for sleep time and it changes to a green light to indicate it is time to get up.  We also have reinforced that it is ok for him to chatter quitely but not to disturb the whole house.   Life is very tricky with a child on the spectrum but clear rules really help.   We also had a sleep study performed on him and it indicates he sufferes with obstructive sleep apnea (which is associated with asd) and we are about to have his tonsils and adenoids removed which should help sleep quality, speech sound, congnitive ability, concentration and behaviour!   Be patient, persistent and be firm with rules because you have to look after yourself as a carer, a carer is productive when rested well.   Lastly good luck I know this is a minefield

  • Is putting her to bed slightly later an option?

  • Thank you.. We do have those. We are reinstating the gro clock as they seemed to work last time she woke up early (but never this early). The complexity of autism amazes me!

    x

  • Odd time keeping can be something we do, but having a 5 year old and a 1year old child myself neither as yet show any symptoms of autism.

    Our daughter as a 3/4 year old used to wake very early- can I suggest

    1) heavy curtains to block out light.

    2) toys in room so that daughter can amuse herself

    That is what we found worked