Sleep Issues

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Sleep Issues

It's official, we got my 3 yr old daughters assessment results yesterday and she is on the spectrum. I just had a few questions about sleep issues.

For the most part she sleeps great! 12 hours a night plus a 2 hour nap durring the day, but we still have a few challenges.

1. Night terrors. She'll go to bed fine, but wake up in the middle of the night, still half asleep and in a huge meltdown which will go on for hours. On average, she has one every couple of weeks. She is completely unconsolable none of the regular things work like rocking, holding a crayon, a bath, watching TV or listening to music. After many hours she will eventually cry herself back to sleep. Sometimes we can link it to something specific, like troubles breathing with a cold, other times it seems completely random. Do any of your children have this? Any tips for calming her down??

And my big dark secret...

2. I put her down with a bottle. I know it can be awful for the teeth, but so far the teeth are fine, we just recently went to the dentist (which was pretty traumatic, but thats for a different post). I've tried cutting her off cold turkey, we went weeks where she hardly slept and was absolutely miserable durring the days (mom and dad were pretty miserable as well), I've tried to wean her on to a pacifier or on to a water bottle with no luck. She has alot of oral sensitivities and is always putting things in her mouth. Any tips on either of the above is really appreciated. Thank you

I will tell you that the night terrors are common with ALL children that age, but the AS may make helping her through them more difficult. If she is in full melt down mode, there isn't much one can do other than give her space while being present enough for her to feel safe should she want you.

Both my children went through stages of wanting me to stay with them all night because of the night terrors. That did seem to help get through the terrors faster on the nights they happened.

As for the bottle thing ... can you switch it out to water for a rinse after she has fallen asleep? Will she instinctively suck when the first bottle is pulled away and a new one (with the water) given? Does she communicate well enough for you to discuss plans and options with her?

Otherwise, I would recommend some version of the bottle or binky fairy. where there is a ceremony and all the bottles get taken away by the fairy for use by another youngster, and a "big girl" gift is left in their place.

Our 3yr old also goes to bed with a bottle. We are slowly breaking habits though.
She also wakes up at night at least twice a week at this point. Unfortunately I am the only one who can get her to go back to bed and stay in bed.

I read that children usually grow out of night terrors as they become older. You should comfort and calm your child at that situation, I guess you´re already doing that. Tell her that everything is ok and that you are there for her. Good sleep routine might also help. Going to sleep everyday at the same time, and establishing a routine reading to your child a bit every night. Maybe staying in the bedroom a little bit with her might be a good idea. If she wakes up in the middle of the night try repeating the whole process again. If you are worried about her having a bottle every night and the problem with cavities you might consider exchanging milk for tea. Giving something warm to the kid to drink helps her calm down and also helps her sleep.

The episodes of night terror are caused by periods of emotional tension like the cold that you mentioned. If you think that the episodes are too severe and not fadding away consulting a psychologist might be a good idea.

You can read it here at the National Institutes of Health: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 000809.htm . "Outlook (Prognosis): Most children outgrow night terrors in a short period of time."

Last edited by Wedge on 27 Mar 2010, 7:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I haven't.

The best suggestion I have for the bottle would be to gradually dilute whatever she usually has with water. Going down with a bottle of water is ok as far a caveties are concerned.

When our girls have bad dreams we just bring them into bed with us.

Can your daugter verbalize what she is dreaming about? Does she remember it the next day?

My son who is almost 5 never really has night terrors, but he wakes up almost every single night. He did not really sleep through the night at all until he was 3. He would wake up crying and I never knew what it was that upset him. He wasn't inconsolable though. Now he doesn't cry, he just comes to our room to get me, and I go in there and lay at the bottom of his bed until he goes back to sleep. He seems to just need reassurance now. I never had the bottle problem thank goodness because he was breast fed. After he got weened, I then had to just rock him to sooth him.
I think sleep problems are very common for children on the spectrum.