Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I have two children with Autism, in total i have 5 children, my two autistic sons are giving me a hard time due to lack of sleep, my husband works every hour he can to support the family so i acn remain at home for kids, I am looking for some advice on services that can help, i live up north so not much support groups for families with auistic children, at moment i am getting around 2 to 3 hours sleep, my son screams house down wakes other children up, my youngest is 2, i have asked social services for some respite for my 2 year old so i can catch up on sleep, today i was told thats not an option as the youngest child has no adiitional support needs, i am running on empty and feel there is no support. If anyone could help i would be greatful.
Thanks
Sorry to hear about your problems. 2 children was plenty for me!
I can't offer any advice on services that could help - you are already engaged with social services, camhs (presumably) and you can call the NAS helpline to see if they have any suggestions.
With so much on your hands you need to be systematic and consistent.
Sleep: Have you tried blackout curtains to help them sleep? Lots of ASD people are extra sensitive to light and an early morning sunrise can ruin a good nights sleep.
Sound: your (only?) son screams. Can you soundproof him as much as you can? Close doors, put rugs on any bare floors, put thick curtains rather than blinds up at windows, use noise cancelling earphones or ear defenders.
Diet: have you seen the various diets that are supposed to help some kids with ASD? It is certainly true that there are some food additives that really react with ASD kids - have you checked this out? There are also low salicylate diets that may help some kids. Some kids also have food intolerance (e.g. apples, tomatoes etc) that will upset them.
Family Support: Do you have any family members who can come in to give you a break?
"parenting skils": Have you seen or attended the courses that are designed to show the best ways to manage ASD kids? I'm not criticising your parenting skills but I don't think there are any parents that can't be helped to improve their skills. No-one knows everything, there always more tricks to learn
Support Groups: are there any NAS supported support groups that you could attend to share your problems with and gain support from?
Consistency: Do you only say NO when you are fully prepared to follow through with a sanction? Do you only say YES when you are prepared to fully honour a promise? This is a skill that I only learnt after a few years of being a parent - it is one of the hardest things to do but the rewards are enormous. It applies particularly to ASD kids as they really don't understand you if you say one thing but then do something else.
I hope some of this might help