Dreams in asd children

Good morning all!, 

I know that this is probably a really stupid question but I was wondering about dreams in autistic people. I know us nt's can have very vivid dreams as can anyone and I know it is is normal to "relive " events while dreaming but recently my daughter has been having awful dreams and some other issues with dreaming.

She used to get night terrors but grew out of them at about 3and a half then she stopped sleeping (3-5 broken hours a night) she is nearly 8 now at the moment I have got her doing 7 hours at once but only if she sleeps next to me. However her nightmares are getting worse some nights she is literally screaming like she is being attacked and is thrashing around to the point she has even given me a black eye (not intentionally ) 

On the nights that she doesn't have a nightmare she relives her day literally. Last night within 30 mins of her going to sleep she was repeating word for word the conversations we had before school, 3 hours later the conversation from lunch an hour later the song and movements from her school play then the arguments she had with her sister after school it was like she was completely running through her day again. 

Sorry if I sound stupid asking but does anyone else have this problem 

Parents
  • I remember when I was a youngling I used to frequently have a very vivid dream that scared me a lot that was somehow "witch related".  I don't remember much more than that about it because memory of my dreams once I awake fades very quickly.  I think I stopped having that in my double digits at some point.  I've no idea why it started, or why it stopped, nor what it was related to.

    I'm not aware of the "re-living the day though."

  • Thanks for that, it is so strange she .is literally repeating her day word for word! She has done it for the last 3 nights just thought I'd see if anyone else had come across this 

  • When my son was between 3-5 years old it would take him 60-90 mins each night before he fell asleep. We’d hear him through the monitor reliving his day - word for word reciting exact conversations from both sides (stuff that’s we’d forgotten!). I guessed it was him just trying to process it all. 

    Now I read this I wonder if he had actually called asleep and was sleep talking! 

  • You never know! At least the upside of this is that when she won't tell me what has been going on in school, I get a complete run through that night so I can try and spot a pattern to what's bothering her, just wish I didn't get the physical movements as well last night I got a re-enactment of the fight with her sister now supporting a very fat lip!

Reply
  • You never know! At least the upside of this is that when she won't tell me what has been going on in school, I get a complete run through that night so I can try and spot a pattern to what's bothering her, just wish I didn't get the physical movements as well last night I got a re-enactment of the fight with her sister now supporting a very fat lip!

Children
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