Help.... Problems with sleeping through the night!

Megan - posted on 12/01/2010

Like many other people my son had the same problem and I baby-proofed his room as best we could and put a gate up. (didn't stop him from UNSCREWING the faceplates on the power outlets.) Also, we found that putting a mattress on the floor rather than in a bed-frame seemed to get him to sleep on it more, but he still preferred to sleep on the floor, where he could line up his cars next to him. Now he is four and sleeps most of the night in his bed fine, although he still prefers a smaller blanket on top of the bed rather than in the bed with the other blankets and sheets. He occasionally still wakes up in the middle of the night, but now he plays and goes back to sleep. He also sleep walks which took us a long time to figure out he was doing, so watch for that as well.

Coralie - posted on 12/01/2010

I have a older son with autism and I hear u!! There must be something about 4 hours coz thats xactly when my son woke too, weird huh?!? For my son it was all about breaking the "routine" which for him im sure started invitro. I did confort/controlled sleep. U kno where u leave them cry for a minute go in let them kno ur there (with little interation) and leave. Nxt time 2 minutes, nxt time 3 minutes etc. Until they sleep. Now i warn u this takes time. My son didnt sleep thru til he was over 4 BUT once he was asleep he stayed asleep. It became less and less. My son was and still is very routine driven so for us it was about breaking that routine and replacing it with another. But always remember everyone child is different. P.S. my husband found this extremely hard and wasnt much help in the process. But we woment are tough and can do anything we set out to do :-)

Dayna - posted on 11/30/2010

Some thing which have worked for me when dealing with the same problem: Try to identify any FOODS or ADDITIVES which your child might be reacting to - making it difficult for her to sleep. It might be artificial ingredients, gluten or something as un-suspicious as peaches! Removing food allergens can be a long and tedious process, which may require the oversight of a professional, but can have very satisfactory results.
Another thing which helped my son was an herb called "Pau D Arco". I used a tincture on glycerine (Nat. Sunshine) and gave him a few drops several times a day. You also might consider asking your doctor whether melatonin would be helpful. Available in tiny dissolving tablets - easy to take. Please check with your doctor before trying these things - I'm not a doctor - just a mom

Barbara - posted on 11/30/2010

Most of the time when any human does not sleep, it is a nutrition problem. It could be a combination of lack of nutrition, which can cause hyperactivity or listlessness, or food sensitivities. Every child whose body is dealing with any abnormality (from Downs to PDD) needs more nutrition than the average child. We did not know this truth for years and years and put our child and ourselves through a lot of needless suffering. Once we found a whole, live, food supplement our lives and his completely changed. Because of this supplement, our son has not had to take any drugs for seven plus years AND his brain is healing as well as his body. And he was in his mid 20's when we started giving him this nutritional supplement from the sea. He was in his early 20's when we learned about nutrition and how to feed him. Don't wait that long for damage will be done that cannot be undone. Contact me if you want more information.

Leesa - posted on 11/30/2010

Yep. Having a routine is much more possible now. He's had a few nighttime adventures - such as going out a basement window - never knew what prompted that? and also going outside, opening the doors to the car, but not closing them back up - battery was still live, amazingly - and then going back to bed! LOL Now, he's the one who gets up to let the cat in/out half the time. But he has more understanding of what is going on - he knows he needs help to sleep and we can talk about it. So that makes it infinitely easier than when he was 2. arg. that was hard. very sleepy parents!

Daisy - posted on 11/30/2010

Too much of anything is no good. Diet plays a great deal in our children's behavior. Too much sugar, read the nutrition labels. Medications in their system has to be flush out of their bodies. Lot of water. What I was saying is whatever you do now has to work for the future. Sorry for the misspelled words I am tired now. Good nigh Ladies. Hope I was able to help.

Daisy - posted on 11/30/2010

I also forgot to mention sometimes just changing their diet all together will help a whole lot too especialy if you do not want to tale any kind of medications. Sometimes natural foods and theapys work like I said before whatever works and something the family can be happy with and always look at the long haul now just now.

Jennifer - posted on 11/30/2010

My 4 yr old son with PDD-NOS does not sleep either! When he was 3 yrs old we tried melatonin. It worked for a couple of weeks and then he stopped sleeping again! His neuro-developmental pediatrician put him on a drug called Clonidine. It lowers his blood pressure and puts him to sleep! It has been much better since the clonidine, but there is still the occasional night he is up for hours playing in the middle of the night, but the clonidine has been a lifesaver!!!!
Jenn

Daisy - posted on 11/30/2010

my baby is 7

Daisy - posted on 11/30/2010

Well, since he is 16 you can try the calm it will relax him because I am sure the lack of sleep will bug him. Sounds like you have come a long way :)

Leesa - posted on 11/30/2010

Hey, Daisy. :) He was up. No going back to sleep no matter what we did. We tried all the other stuff first. The computer games were more to give him something to occupy his time while he was awake and we weren't. :D Well, he's 16 now and doing pretty well sleep-wise. :) The full moon seems to be a trigger for him to flip days and nights, but otherwise, the melatonin is a help.

Daisy - posted on 11/30/2010

The meltonin helps us alot and we also get calm from whole foods. Trust me I understand our son use to keep us up all night or not sleep enough. Now, we have him on a schedule which helps alot. Leesa I have heard computer games stimulate children :) might keep him up. but again I understand you have to try everything until you hit what works.

Leesa - posted on 11/30/2010

My son would cycle every 10 days he'd go 48 hours on 4 hours of sleep. It was REALLY hard. We put a lock on his door, put a computer with games he liked to play in there (yes, he was into the computer at 2 - he sent my email out to a group one time!) and let him play. It made it possible for us to sleep and keep him safe. As he got older, we got him on melatonin which has been a lifesaver for us all. It's hard to know which behaviors are related to sleep deprivation and which are the autism/pdd. Good luck!

Daisy - posted on 11/30/2010

Put her in her bed with a worn shirt from dad or mom and ask her doctor if you can give her melatonin at night.

Tina - posted on 11/30/2010

we had the same issue with our son for years. Then we treated for yeast and it is wayyyyyyyy better

Sandy - posted on 11/29/2010

Is she in a bed or crib? My twins didnt.. and still dont sleep without the use of melatonin. However when they were 2-3 yrs old I baby proofed their room and put a gate up at the doorway. So when they woke up they could safely play in the bedroom without escaping. It helped me sleep, i didnt have to worry about them wondering. They are 6 now and I give them melatonin so they will sleep, otherwise they are up until midnight or later and they have school all day.

Barbie - posted on 11/28/2010

No Katherine, we have lived here for 5 yrs now and everything has been the same :(

i try not to change anything because she doesnt like change!

Ive asked her doctors and they say its part of her autism!....but i really need sleep....lol

so im open to try new things!

Katherine - posted on 11/28/2010

Have there been any recent changes in the house?