Any Ideas? Need sleep! - Autism Spectrum Message Board

momofanangel · 01-23-2007, 09:32 AM

My son is 2 1/2 and always wakes up in the night at least once...but for the past 2 weeks, he's started waking up screaming and crying and won't go back to sleep until I bring him to my bed. I wait until he's sleeping again and then return him to his own bed. He does this about twice a night. This goes on from about 4 am until morning. I have two other sons that are in school. So I'm up at 7 to get them ready. I am absolutely exhausted. Does anyone else have this type of problem? Have you found anything that works for you? I've heard about weighted pajamas and weighted blankets that may help with sleeping. Has anyone tried these? Any ideas would be a Godsend!!

BetsyAnn · 01-25-2007, 07:30 PM

My son had horrible sleeping issues until we tried the casein (milk protein) free diet. Three days after being casein free he started sleeping soundly for the first time in his life. I would encourage anyone with a child on the spectrum that has sleep issues to try to eliminate casein. It leaves the body in three days so you can tell within a week or so if it will make a difference for your child.

taless · 01-26-2007, 08:55 AM

My son used to do that at that age. Mostly it would be on days that he was overstimulated. He would wake up crying and nothing we would do would get him to stop except bringing him into our bed and holding him tight. He did outgrow it this, thankfully.

elmhar · 01-26-2007, 10:18 AM

Good ideas so far. A few more things to consider trying:

1) Warm Epsom Salt bath at bedtime. Two handfuls of ES in a tub of warm water. Don't let your child drink it, has a laxative effect. But some of the mag is absorbed & is relaxing, promotes good sleep.

2) Is your child verbal? Can he tell you what's wrong?

3) It might be more restful for all if he stays with you in bed all night, after the first wake-up. But I'm sure you know there are pros & cons to that.

4) Check to see that there's nothing that could be physically irritating him -- a rash, a sore throat, a tag on his PJs, the furnace coming on & startling him, etc.

Best wishes.

momofanangel · 01-26-2007, 03:13 PM

Thank you for your replies. My son is non-verbal, so it definately makes it difficult to understand what is upsetting him. I wish he could tell me what is wrong!! I can't sleep with him in our bed because he likes to sleep right on me. He puts half of his body on my head etc...so when he gets sleepy again, I need to move him back into his own bed so I can get some sleep too. I will try eliminating the milk protein and see if that helps. His sleeping patterns are completely off. I try and make him stay awake in the day so he's nice and tired at night...but sometimes he ends up falling asleep right on the spot by late afternoon...hard to find a balance, but hopefully soon. Thanks again!