3y4m DS is on the ASD pathway. He has always been a high needs child, very high energy and demanding during the day with frequent tantrums. He's very PDA although obviously no diagnosis of this but we have done a lot of reading and use non declarative language ect. He tends for down to bed with a fight (lots of delaying, "hang on let me just" etc) and he will wake in the night and wake early but a cup of milk has always put him back to sleep.
Until last week he decided no more milk, won't entertain the idea. Cue him having ridiculous difficulty getting himself to sleep. Bedtime has become traumatic, with screams, kicking us, biting, hitting, throwing everything out of his bed. We used to at least be able to read a book most of the time. We aren't putting him mega early - 7pm but he is dog tired and yawning all day.
Were putting him to bed crying (very loudly) and he is dropping off emotional having thrown everything out of his bed. He is also having a huge meltdown if he wakes in the night or early in the morning with the same lashing out.
He is a misery during the day with constant equalising behaviour and tantrums lasting most of the day.
We are absolutely wrecked. I feel like I have a newborn with the strength of a fully grown man and he doesn't want to sleep.
What the hell do we do?
N.b - we have melatonin, never needed it before but all it's doing is helping him sleep in the first instance and I believe it's making him angrier during the day.