Not too happy

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Thoughts of medication for Damien are popping into my head. Not major meds just something to help him sleep.
He woke the whole house again last night because he couldn't get to sleep. He kept coming into my room and saying good night and getting a cuddle (he hates cuddles) and if I didn't respond he would should shout really loud.
He eventaully went to sleep at around 11pm and I woke him at 7.20am.
I swore black and blue that there was no way he was going to be medicated but I really can't see any other way.
We see paeditrician in 2 weeks and if his sleeping hasn't improved I will be telling him and asking him what can be done!

Hi

Not trying to give advice as know you would of tried everything and know what its like my sons when younger were the same. They do get better as grow older, but a friend of mine found that buying a trampoline has really helped her child, it just helps with his excesses energy burst...

My whole life seem to be around getting my own children to sleep, but did find a strict routine helped. Must admit they always when to bed later than any other child I knew, so ended up letting them and then spent about 1 hour reading to them each night, found great for both of us...

But really take all the advice you can, I would ask the paeditrician in 2 weeks. If they suggest medication ask what side effects, and if any long term test have to done on children taking these medications - at the end of the day it has to be your decision.

I choose not to medicate mine, but that was for my own reasons... and I think I am still sane

Thanks. He loves his trampoline and gets enough exercise during the day. Even if it is raining he will go out and play with his raincoat on. He has also got a strict routine.
Last time we saw paed he said NO to medication which I was happy about .
I don't mind him going to bed/sleep a bit later than other kids his age but it is getting too late, 9pm is ok 11pm is not. He is not only depriving himself of sleep but he is affecting other people sleep as well.
I myself need around 9-10 hours a night but I am not getting it and it makes me slight less able to be a good, happy Mum.

Before my son was 4, I would have been happy if he ever got that much sleep. He stopped naps after 2 years old and barely slept at night until he was just over 4. It was a really hard time for us. They say young kids need 10 hours but I know my son didn't start sleeping that much again until he was 5 1/2 years and in kindergarten.

I have heard good things about melatonin and autistic kids. I started using it myself but haven't needed it since I got my depression under wraps. It's natural hormonal thing. I would ask the doctor about it, including dosage. It's not a sleeping pill, like something that makes you drowsy. If I take it and don't go to bed, it doesn't do anything. If you take it at bedtime and go to bed, then it helps you calm down and go to sleep. The side effect for me is that I dream vividly (pleasant dreams) and it's sometimes hard to wake up in the morning. But I'm not "groggy", just attached to those dreams. I haven't heard anyone else complain about that though.

It is so horrible not to get enough sleep as a parent, and not to get that hour or two of relaxation in the evening!

Excercise is good! We have a trampoline, and at one point he did around 1000 jumps before bedtime!
Routines: we stopped my son getting out of bed by setting a timer: We said to stay in his room (at that point it wasn't realistic to say bed, so we put him to bed but didn't scold him for getting out) and we would come in 5 minutes. We went in every five minutes, when the timer went off, and said exactlty the same thing. He got a prize when he did this sucsessfully. A very very motivating prize!

But what really helped was melatonin. It is a natural hormone with no side effects. In many countries you can buy it in health shops. If you decide to try it, talk to the psychiatrist about his experiences with it. (I would try giving him 3 mg which is a minute dose).
Melatonin means that my son goes to sleep at 8.30 every night, and it makes him feel naturally tired.

I wouldn't give him any "real" drugs i.e. sleeping pills.

Have you considered or tried weighted blankets? Just a thought, another option if you really want to avoid the meds route.

I'm in no way going to tell you to go against what your pediatrician says, because I don't know your son's age or his medical history. But next time you see him or her you might want to ask about Tylenol Simply Sleep. It's just a low dose of benedryl so it's not addictive or damaging. I've been taking it every night for nearly 2 years because I've had insomnia all my life.

A few other people have mentioned Melatonin but it is only available here (NZ) on prescription. I can't even get it in a helth food shop.
Some nights I have resorted to giving him a sedating antihistamine but it doesn't work.

We can only get it on prescription, too. So talk to the psych. about it and ask him/her to look it up if they don't know enough about it!
BTW you can buy it on the net, but I would talk to the psyk. first any way.
I also think melatonin is more safe than anti-histamins, cause it's absolutely natural.

Have you tried sleeping with him?

When my son couldn't sleep, I found that sleeping in his bed, with him knowing he also had to stay in bed, was my ticket to actually getting some sleep.

No, it did not become a permanent bad habit. He grew out of it.

But, still, it doesn't always work. The needs of everyone in the family have to be factored in.

our son does not sleep nearly as long as we do....hubby does not sleep nearly as long as i do.........
everyone's sleep needs are different

when all of our children were little, and started to go through the " don't want to stay in bed phase", i instituted the rule that they had to stay in bed unless they had to go to the bathroom, had a bad nightmare, or were going to get physically ill. i also let them take books to bed. i would read them a bedtime story & then allow them to keep that book in bed along with other favorite books. eventually, everyone fell asleep. my youngest still takes books to bed with her ( she's 9).

I did sleep training with my son and that does work after about 5 nights. Super Nanny and Nanny 911 feature sleep training techniques all the time. It involves you putting the kid to bed and returning the kid to bed every time they get out of bed.

My son goes to sleep and stays asleep, which I've heard is kind of unusual because something like 70% of kids with ASD have sleep problems. I would not give my son sleep meds.

I would say that it differs with the kid. I don't know for sure, but I've got the feeling that ADHD-ish autistic kids can be really difficult to train using the regular approaches. Nothing ever worked with my son, definately not just putting him back to bed or having him sleep in our bed - he simply didn't sleep!!
Actually, his sleep problems started at birth. None of my NT kids ever were anything like it! He couldn't go to sleep, and when he eventually did, the slightest noise woke him up again. This included the church bells that chime every 15 minutes, cars starting on the street outside and people talking. It was just awfull!!
Believe me when I say that the mental health of a whole family can be ruined by the torture it is never to get enough sleep! And unlike a normal baby, some of these kids never grow out of it!
It is also very worrying. We put an extra lock on our front door, because my son would wake up at night and wander out... it sends shivers down my spine!
If you've got a kid any thing like my dearly beloved son, I say go for it with melatonin! It'll save your sanity... and nothing else works, anyhow

Hi
I was talking to a friend of mine who has a autistic/adhd daughter who vary rarely go's to sleep before 1am.
She said that epsom salts in her daughter's night time bath used to help a little.

I know here with me that what I do is strictly quiet time from about 7.30 on wards. J also sleeps with a lamp on in his room(terrified of the dark) a fan going all year round (white noise and he gets very hot) A heavy douna. He also has a much loved dvd going in his room that he falls asleep to (alot of people wont like this but it works) once the dvd is finished and it is always down very low sometimes with subtitles running (this seams to tire him more to) the dvd turns it self off then there is just the blue light from the tv left on.