Asd DD trouble sleeping. What helps?

[Spotsbeforemyeyes]

DD is 8. Suspected autism, not DX as yet.

She struggles so much getting to sleep. She burns off plenty of energy during the day and eats well but is often still awake at 10pm.

What has helped your DC? We have lavender sleep spray so far.

The only thing that's worked for us is routine - my DS needs the same pattern every night. We have a visual timetable with it on. It must reduce his anxiety I guess to know exactly what's happening? I've not tried anything else because this works for us but I think other asd kids who struggle to sleep have melatonin prescribed. Hope you get it sorted x

DD doesn’t have autism but has CP and similar inability to switch off.

Yes to routine. Also earlier bedtime than you might think - at least until sleep is caught up - before the overtiredness adrenaline kicks in.

We had melatonin when she was aged around 5 (thanks to a rogue locum consultant, I don’t think most would have prescribed it) and it really helped, though we only used it at the worst times as it loses effectiveness if used too much. The liquid kind worked much better. We haven’t used it in ages.

I still stay with DD at bedtime especially when she is “wired” and can’t get sleepy. Lying next to her, heavy arm draped over her, breathing slowly seems to help her. I also throw in a couple of yawns or big sighs.

An occasional nap in the car if she’s getting very tired helps too. So we might have a strategic long distance outing ending around 2-3pm so she sleeps on the way back. Although this can make bedtime harder so it’s a bit of a gamble.

We've recently bought dd a weighted blanket. It certainly seems to help her fall asleep more quickly. I don't think they are recommended for sleeping under all night though, so you would have to remove it once your dc is asleep.

Thank you. I don't think she'd cope with a weighted blanket, she barely tolerates the duvet. She likes to squeeze into small spaces like the gap in between the bed and the wall. She hooks her arm through mine and wakes up if I try and release it.

She's just dropped off after lots of years about not being able to sleep.

We got some CBT for my son who has Aspergers. Think he was about 9yo when we got that. DH was and still is very good at talking through things with him. The CBT definitely helped.
We used it again recently, he is 15yo. He hoards like crazy, but it gets really out of hand at times. He will collect rubbish etc when he is at school, walking home etc and put it in his room. Can’t bear for things to be thrown away.

My daughter is 11 and still has problems dropping off. She listens to audio books (the same ones over and over) and this seems to help a bit.

@minipie

Why do you not think most consultants would have prescribed melatonin? It’s quite commonly used here (maybe you are not U.K.)

OP for us it was routine, melatonin and weighted blanket. Don’t discount it, maybe see if you could borrow one for a week to see how she gets on?

Routine and weighted blanket. I can't get anyone to prescribe melatonin for my son.

Routines and calming, heavy/weighted input. I think sometime we try and tire children out before bed, but by encouraging them to run around and bounce on trampolines etc... we are giving them lots of alerting, vestibular input - this can stay in their system for up to 7 hours!

If we try and give them lots of proprioceptive input, which is calming, it might help them to sleep. Things like warm baths, massage, cuddles, reading a quiet story under a weighted blanket or on a beanbag. Have to find things that work for each individual though

Thank you. She gets very hot so not sure a weighted blanket would work but I'll happily look at all suggestions.

They really aren’t for everyone, squishy stuff to lie/snuggle into would give lots of feedback too - lots of cushions to make a ‘nest’, or a small ball pit to lie in - you can get blankets with ball pit type balls in to lie on/under that aren’t weighted, but some children seem to love and find very calming

Maybe she would like some extra pillows, with fabric she likes.

snowybaubles I think that because the next consultant we got told us the NHS wouldn’t normally in DD’s case (I guess because her sleep wasn’t toooo bad, she was getting about 9-10 hrs age 5, the problem was that the CP was tiring her out too so that really wasn’t enough).

Oh I forgot, DD also needs complete blackout to sleep (or at least it helps a lot). We use some magnetic blackout blinds from ebay/amazon that really do block 100%. In case that might also help your DD.

I have aspergers and I sleep like shit. I like to have a routine, a pitch black room and white noise. I can't sleep if it's too quiet, weirdly.

My 8 year old is currently going through a diagnosis process although I don't think they'll land on asd, probably dyslexia with ADHD from what's been said, although I'm not sure I agree... Anyway he has always been a terrible sleeper, didn't do a 3 hour stretch until he was 3 years old, hours to fall asleep, still wakes in the night, but also believes he sleeps less than he actually does so worries about being awake all night...

He has a weighted blanket which helps when he wants to use it but not when he doesn't...

What helps most as someone else said is audio books he knows by heart - the same ones over and over, hundreds and hundreds of times. They're so familiar they sooth him like a meditation CD, but he hates actual children's meditation CDs.

It also combats the anxiety about not being able to sleep as he can put the CD back on if he can't sleep and have "company" and a distraction from his mind whirring.

Thank you all. Some great ideas.

She's afraid of the dark so we have to have the hall light on and the door open. I'm un diagnosed and have never, ever slept well. It takes ages to fall asleep, I wake several times a night and never feel refreshed. I don't want her to suffer for years like I have done.