Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi
My daughter is 6, has autism and has severe learning difficulties. She’s never liked sleeping, but recently it’s gotten out of hand. She won’t stay in bed, getting up just seconds after we get her back in bed, and she runs straight to me and her dad, wherever we are. This happens over and over for hours - in the last week we’ve had several nights where she’s had only 4 or 5 hours sleep because of this. She knows she’s supposed to be in bed, and I’m worried she thinks it’s a game. She’s not distressed or upset at all - she’s usually smiling in the cheeky way she does when she thinks she’s getting away with something.
We’ve tried everything - night lights, blackout curtains, total silence, white noise machines, a strict bedtime routine, and she has a prescription for melatonin. Social stories don’t work because she can’t understand or pay attention to them. Nothing works.
The only way I’ve found of getting her to sleep at a remotely reasonable time, is to stay in her room with her, cuddling her lower legs so that she stays lying down (a normal cuddle doesn’t work because she kicks and flails wildly with her legs, not in an unhappy way, it’s just something she likes to do). That way she succumbs to sleep within an hour because she’s forced to stay still and calm. However, the problem with that plan, is I’m pregnant, and in a few months I won’t be physically capable of doing that anymore (and for some reason that strategy doesn’t work if her dad does it).
Does anyone have any similar experience, or have any ideas for what might help?
The same biological mechanism responsible for sleep is the same responsible for higher anxiety in Autism and ADHD. Many more studies have come out since 2020 showing we tend to have less of these inhibitors responsible for shutting down “hyper accelerating brainwaves” which can spill from excitement into anxiety. Theres a great deal of different types but usually grouped under GABA
From what I’ve read and experienced, Melatonin can interfere with heart rate, so I’d tread carefully. But also, stretching before bed can produce great results: a yoga or judo routine, as many Autistics and ADHDrs can have different joints and stretching them out daily (along with a good amount of exercise) will help
The building blocks of GABA can be found in L Theanine, and I’ve found a natural source of them in mushroom gummies (like Feel Güd) or a mushroom compound. There are drugs to promote this as well, which epileptics might take, but she’s much too young. A magnesium spray before bed can help as well (not to internally take too much, the body will be allowed to absorb what it needs from the skin. I use it on my legs.)