Recently diagnosed autistic son.

Hi 

my name is Sarah I'm 24 years old  I'm new to this so please bare with me with replies 

I'm in a rut at the moment. After a 3 year battle my son who is 4 years 6 months now has finally been diagnosed with autism. It's gone from me pleading with people to listen to me about my son. To finally having answers. I'm scared and somewhat relieved in a way. I don't even know what to do to help him. I don't really have anyone I can talk to about it. He seems to be getting worse. It's as if he knows he's been diagnosed and it's all coming out Now. 

my main worry at the moment is nighttimes. We have a routine where I read him a story (whilst a 5 minute timer is on) once I've finnished the story and the timer goes off it's time for bed. he ll go to bed but them spend the next 4 hours getting up coming up with excuses for example :

im sad mammy, I have an injury mammy , I need the toilet mammy. The list is endless 

is there any strategies parents have come up with to settle their LO 

i find myself crying most nights feeling rather depressed  it's not just the nighttime is a lot of things. But the nighttime is the main one. He also has a younger brother who is 2 and half  who also wake during the night. 

im literally only getting 1 hour sleep if a nighttime. And don't know what to do. Any help would be absolutely amazing. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Sarah xx