Published on 12, July, 2020
Can anyone help me ? I have a 4 year old daughter who has not been diagnosed yet and currently going through process for a referral. I have quite a lot of bad nights with her sleeping. She normally wakes up once twice through the night for 2-4 hours and it takes along time to get her of to sleep she tells me she’s scared, she sleeps with me in the end. I’m just wondering if anyone else has this problem if so what are your ideas/thoughts? I have been told my her senco at school this is affecting her in school and it needs to be sorted. Iv tried leaving nights on and doesn’t make a difference Iv tried giving her a weighted blanket. She does have a rigid routine before bed as it unsettles her if it’s not done.
My daughter has always had difficulty settling down and I can't remember the last time she slept through the night. She was prescribed melatonin when she was younger, which helped her to get to sleep at around 9pm, but because I disguised it in a bedtime drink she would still wake around 2am with the added distress of wetting the bed, so I stopped that. I also suspected that it contributed to her 'crazy nights' but didn't explore this theory. The only times she has slept soundly has been after a really active day. As she has got older (she's now 14), she has wanted to sleep in for longer, but she still won't settle until around midnight, and I have had to change my attitude/ expectations regarding the night time routine and be more accepting of her behaviour. I expect to be getting her to settle from about 9 till midnight so I have a soft light and cosy chair in her room while I listen to the radio on low volume or text my friends etc. I don't get annoyed when she wakes me up with shouting at 2am, and as long as I get to her quickly and stay calm and quiet I can often get her back to sleep easily. I used to try to ignore her, but she would work herself up to a meltdown and it would be back to square one. So she sleeps midnight - 2ish, then 2.15ish - 8 if I can get her up. I sleep 12.30 - 2am, then 2.30-6.30am. I'm now going to see if I can pick up some tips from the other replies in this thread! Good luck x
I will try the pillow thing instead.
Great, I hope it helps. Will the blanket be near her nose all of the time? If not, it might be difficult for her to smell the lavender. I've found a few drops either side of my pillow to be the most effective.
I have been told to go the pediatrician about getting some sort of medication for her. I am going to go get some lavender oil and take her out to pick a blanket to use the oil on to see if that will help, Thank you for the advice.
I'm like your daughter and unforutanley the only thing that works for me is sleeping tablets that are prescribed by the GP. Hopefully, once she has a diagnosis they will be able to prescribe her something if you're ok with that.
I usually get a solid 7 hours sleep but as I'm pregnant I've started waking up in the night. A few drops of good quality lavender oil, plus my gravity blanket help me to settle back to sleep.
I am in the same boat as you as my 5 year old daughter wakes 2-3 times a night and eventually ends up sleeping with me but some nights she will sleep all night. im still trying ti figure out what happens to make her sleep all night sometimes but I still have not found the link. When she does wake, most times I try put her back in her bed but she ends up sneaking into my bed without me realising. To get her to sleep is a mission as she goes to bed at 6:30 but will not go sleep till after 9pm. I put lullabies on and give her a malt drink to help settle her, I have tried reading to her but that just gets her more stimulated. I am going to try a subtle lavender bedtime spray but its all trail and error at the moment.
Hi
Cant offer much in the way of advice but I do understand, my daughter is 8 and has had sleep issues since age 2. We have only just got her back in her own bed, but she still only sleeps 3-5 hours a night and not all at once, she is also prone to sleepwalking and nightmares. However unlike your daughter it doesn't affect her in school (wish I had her energy!)
Have you tried background music? We found it worked for a while helping her to fall asleep but she kept turning the volume up during the night so we had to stop using it. We also put a bed tent on her bed this gave her a "safe space" to shut her self in this has kept her in her own bed and helped with the fear as she has a small night light in there
Dear NAS63066,
So sorry to hear that you are having difficulties with your daughter's sleep pattern.
You may find the information on our sleep and autism page of the website useful - you can access it here: https://www.autism.org.uk/about/health/sleep.aspx
Also there is information on our website about sensory issues with suggestions for how to deal with them - that page is here: https://www.autism.org.uk/about/behaviour/sensory-world.aspx
If you would like to speak to someone, you could contact our Autism Helpline team who can provide you with information and advice . You can contact the team via telephone on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm). The Helpline is often very busy and it may take a couple of attempts before you get through to speak to an advisor. Alternatively, should you prefer to send a message, you can do so via their webform:
https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/questions.aspx
There are also lots of other posts on the forum discussing sleep issues which you can find by doing a search using a term such as 'sleep issues'.
I hope you manage to find something that helps.
Regards,
Kerri-Mod
She does have a lot of sensory issues including noises, being over crowded, not liking her head being brushed because she’s in pain with it, money smelling ..