Sleep Help?

Recently, we've realized that The Boy (6--Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), low IQ, ADHD, etc) isn't sleeping at night. I thought it was due to his not being able to breathe, but he is 2 1/2 months post T/A and is still getting out of bed in the middle of the night. Until last night, I thought it was only to use the bathroom, etc. But, after observing him last night, I think he is up much more. And, it's having a terrible impact on his behavior.

Typically, he gets 3 mg of melatonin before bed and that will help him sleep for a few hours. But, it wears off fast. Has anyone tried the Melatonin XR? I have friends with kids with sleep issues, and they were not impressed with the XR. We are off all medications until October (medications were not making a positive impact) when he has another evaluation, so I don't want to try a medication that is prescribed for anything other than sleep. Last night, we were out of Melatonin, and he slept 2.5 hrs...I need more sleep than that--Help :)
 

Ktllc

New Member
V has the same kind of issues and we used to give him melatonin which helped for falling asleep but, like yours, not staying asleep. Now, besides a strict bedtime routine which starts about 1 hour before going to bed, V uses a weighted blanket and a white noise machine. Which I have to recharge the batteries! I keep on forgetting and the last few nights he had difficulties falling a sleep. He keeps is weighted blanket on all night, but I only run the white noise machine for one hour, then it goes off automatically.
This has done the trick for us although V will still have issues sometimes if he had a bad day. It's not perfect but 100% better than it used to be.
V is not on any medications, so I cannot comment on this.
 
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Liahona

Guest
Have you taken him in for a sleep study? There could be lots of things wrong and they might be able to suggest more things. There is also lots of different medications for sleep.
 

buddy

New Member
My pediatrician has always said we are lucky in this one area. Q (knock wood ) has had only situation specific sleep issues on a few nights. Typically puts himself to bed and gets up when I wake him. He is sleepwalking recently ..
The zyprexa? ??
Anyway he always says sleep issues are among the most frequent complaints he has from parents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) kiddos. I think the sleep study is a great idea. Turns out simple seizures were walking my son up repeatedly during the night though he'd go back to sleep. That can mess with mood and behavior. I would never have known if not for the inpatient eeg. The sensory part is a good bet too. Different sheets. A special mattress or topper, special pillows etc. Mine too uses a weighted blanket. Loves two of them some nights. We also use benedryl but that backfires for some kids.

I
 
We started using a weighted blanket, but he doesn't care for it--I wish he would leave it on, because I think it would really help. He just can't keep his body still long enough to fall asleep some nights. I think more good sleep would help him a lot. We have an appointment with a neurologist, and I'm hoping that they will agree to some fact-finding testing. I don't have any reason to suspect seizures, but with all of his 'differences,' it would be great to rule out 100%.
 
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Liahona

Guest
My sister jerks her legs in her sleep so never gets deeply asleep. They gave her some medications to help still her. She had to have the sleep study done before they found out about this though.
 
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