Child seeing things that are not there

[PaulinaG93]

Hey guys?

I’m seeking a bit of advice about something, It will be a long essay to describe what is going on. It’s really strange situation but I’m just at my wits end with it all.

Bit of a background my son is now 3 and half years old, he is a non verbal autistic. He always had trouble sleeping through the night but this is something else.

He had his own bedroom since he was around year and half old. A lot of times during the night when he was awake he would focus on one particular location in his room. He didn’t show distress or fear. He even waved to it several times or laugh out loud in the direction. He would stare at the spot for hours. We tried re arranging furniture etc but he always stared at a new spot after that. And it was always the same spot. Freaky right.

We moved into a new house about a month ago, the first night just before going to sleep my son was looking into the spare bedroom (door was slightly open, light on) from across the corridor and flipped. He started screaming like something scared him really bad. I thought it’s a new house, moving is hard for kids anyways. Pretty quickly he started staring at the random locations in the house. He would often laugh out loud like he was playing with someone, this happened at all times of the day and mainly in his bedroom and living room. Again I thought not much of it as he is a little boy, he might have an imaginary friend it’s common at that age etc. Then around two weeks ago he woke up in the middle of the night and was showing me something was by his toy cupboard. Now first few days his reaction was something is there like he did for months before in his old bedroom. As days went on he seemed to start becoming afraid of it to the point where he would be showing genuine fear forwards that corner, then it moved to his door as well a couple of days later. Untill a week ago, he woke up in the middle of the night and screamed. I mean bloody murder screaming I ran in into his room and he kept letting me know that there is something in the corner of his room. He was clearly terrified of it. Now his bedroom got a night light so there is no pitch black spots in there, when you in there at night you can clearly and easy make you what you see is furniture, toys etc. This went on for a couple of night. I started getting concerned as my son was very certain there is something there that he doesn’t want to see. Last night it’s reached the limit tho, he woke up screaming and the same thing he tells me something is by the cupboard. Now normally the previous nights when I layered down with him he would eventually calm down but that wasn’t the case. Everything he calmed down he looked somewhere else in the room and screamed. It went on for hours, it’s by the cupboard with the toys, it’s by his door, it’s by his bed etc. At one point he was dragging me out of bed screaming like there was something in the bed with us, he was shouting no no no, being non verbal when he does say ‘no’ that speaks million words. This went on for 5 hours last night. I can clearly see by his reaction that he is genuine terrified,and whatever he sees to him is real. We got a nanny cam in his room that I was watching all last night when it was all happening while I was there with him but again I couldn’t see anything.

I don’t know what to do. Do I let his paediatrician know what’s is going on? Moving rooms doesn’t help as when he slept in my bedroom the same thing happened. He isn’t terrified to go to sleep in his bedroom at bedtime or be upstairs during daytime etc it’s all happening from 12am onwards.
As I said I’m at my wits end and I don’t know what to do or how to help him. Because he doesn’t speak I’m not even able to know what he is seeing that’s scaring him so much. Has anybody got any suggestions what should I do?

Yes, i would tell the paediatrician. It sounds very difficult for you.
Could you try something like the lamps that play pictures on the wall? So that his focus is drawn somewhere else?

He's seeing something supernatural. Quite common at that age.

Is he having night terrors? Or vivid dreams maybe? It could be a developmental phase. Might be worth speaking to a paediatrician as it is taking hours to resettle him and lack of sleep will exacerbate any sleep related issue and can become a bit of a vicious cycle.

My dd with ASD had lots of night terrors at that age and later issues with seeing things in her room that stopped her getting to sleep. She has a very vivid imagination and was so tired because of it she was seeing things in the day at school due to waking dreams.

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel

He's seeing something supernatural. Quite common at that age.

No he is not because there is no such thing

@Antiqueanniesmagiclanternshow

Yes, i would tell the paediatrician. It sounds very difficult for you. Could you try something like the lamps that play pictures on the wall? So that his focus is drawn somewhere else?

I will ring them and tell them ASAP. Thank you.

It's really difficult but I can get through a lack of sleep it's him I'm deeply worried about as before last night I have never ever seen his this terrified in his life.

@Choconuttolata

Is he having night terrors? Or vivid dreams maybe? It could be a developmental phase. Might be worth speaking to a paediatrician as it is taking hours to resettle him and lack of sleep will exacerbate any sleep related issue and can become a bit of a vicious cycle.

My dd with ASD had lots of night terrors at that age and later issues with seeing things in her room that stopped her getting to sleep. She has a very vivid imagination and was so tired because of it she was seeing things in the day at school due to waking dreams.

I will be ringing his paediatrician ASAP to let them know. I don't think it's night terror as it doesn't fit it. He is fully awake when this happened and his reaction are so emotional. He struggled to communicate and get his message across often but it was such a clear message of 'I'm terrified of this and it's there'. What scared me the most when he thought it was in his bed with us and he started shouting no no no while dragging me out of his bed, I that was just terrifying beyond belief.

I will try to get him something like that. At the end of last night tho I allowed him to have his tablet to watch something to get his mind of it and it didn't help. He would be watching it and every so often quickly looking at the space by the cupboard and then for example look at the door and scream out in fear.

I am a specialist teacher for autistic children. What autistic children imagine can be very real to them. I've seen children interacting, or playing a part in, a favourite cartoon as if the other characters were really there. Sometimes they just 'watch' something playing in their imagination which looks very like staring intently at one location. I've also seen children laughing to themselves as if someone else was playing with them as a result of what they are imagining. I think perhaps your DS is not differentiating between his imagination and reality.

Agree with PP about exploring distraction- quiet music, audio books or white noise and moving wall projections could be good. Maybe some sensory input like a bubble tube or fiber-optic spaghetti. Maybe even sleeping in a hammock type thing that would give a cocoon and some feedback from the movement.

Prehaps your GP would give a referral to OT who could help you more with this.

I would tell his paediatrician, however just to reassure you (maybe?), I'm an adult with (HF) ASD and as a child and a long way into being an adult I had imaginary friends and things that weren't real, but I absolutely 100% believed that they were, to the extent that I told other people about them as if they were real and would interact with them (talking, playing etc.) as if they were. I had a very difficult time separating reality from what was in my head, so it could be something like that; he's still very young and he may not be able to separate things, or it could possibly be something more sinister (hence saying you should chat with his paediatrician).

You say he has a night light - are there any shadows or shapes that look like other things? Can he sleep in a different room? One of my things was believing there were things under the bed that would eat my feet. My Dad used to check under the bed every night and give it the 'all clear', which was reassuring; have you tried something like that?

I have also read that things people perceive as ghosts etc. can sometimes be low frequency noises, drafts etc. - is it an old house, or could there be any external noises (pipes?) that sound , or feel, to him like there's something in the room? Especially as people with ASD often have heightened senses.

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel

He's seeing something supernatural. Quite common at that age.

As crazy as that sounds we have considered it several times but it then it doesn't show up on camera or anything. Plus we don't feel anything like that at all. I looked into it and for such an activity to be going on there must be more to that and we would of noticed that something didn't feel right with the whole house if that makes sense.

My son used to have night terrors. Always 'seemed' awake but not actually. He would scream and shout and just be terrified and inconsolable for a few hours then remember nothing the next day.
Does he remember in daytime do you think?

I've seen children interacting, or playing a part in, a favourite cartoon as if the other characters were really there. Sometimes they just 'watch' something playing in their imagination which looks very like staring intently at one location. I've also seen children laughing to themselves as if someone else was playing with them as a result of what they are imagining. I think perhaps your DS is not differentiating between his imagination and reality.

This is exactly what I was trying to say but @KibeththeWalker has phrased it much better - this is what I do (still do, as an adult, but know now not to do it in front of other people).

A low level audio book helps me to sleep, but I can focus on the narrative, he's still maybe quite young to understand stories enough that it will take his full attention away, but it might be worth trying?

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel

He's seeing something supernatural. Quite common at that age.

Yep. That'll be it

Or not, obviously.

Right I think if I just reply to everyone at once it will be easier rather than leaving small messages...

It's not supernatural. I been through it before it's has a feel to it. If it was supernatural it would be happening to us to plus it's not happening during the day etc.

I think what you guys are describing is bang on. He probably has an extra vivid imagination and struggles to know what's really there or not. Specially that it's been going on for so long but only now escalated to fear.

It's not to do with noise in the house as this house is very calm and quiet. I suffer from extra noise sensitivity and in the last house was hearing noises like footsteps, whispers, my name being called and faint music playing and that was all due to my brain trying to make sense of the house noises it was hearing. It's been happening for years to me.

Back on my son, I will be calling his paediatrician this afternoon and describing it all from when it began. I feel silly as we just seen her recently and I never through to mention that. I will be able looking into getting his some sensory stuff to help at night time. He does love story books and music so I'm gonna try audio sensory first. The night light that he has is carefully positioned so it doesn't create any shadows or dark spots. As even my imagination would run wild if I had to sleep in that room with strange shadows and pitch black spots. It's really affecting his sleep and has for years now, it's affecting his during the day as he is so tired. Thank you guys for replying as it had put my mind at easy a little bit as I know there are stuff now I can try to help him out to settle better.

@Antiqueanniesmagiclanternshow

My son used to have night terrors. Always 'seemed' awake but not actually. He would scream and shout and just be terrified and inconsolable for a few hours then remember nothing the next day. Does he remember in daytime do you think?

Sorry missed that in my previous reply. I think he does, reason being this morning he didn't want to be upstairs on his own. He wouldn't go into his bedroom untill I went in with him. And then everything was fine again, so maybe he doesn't remember exactly what he imagined he saw but remembers the feeling of fear he felt last night.

@PaulinaG93 you won't necessarily feel anything/see anything and it won't show on camera. Little children are incredibly susceptible to it. It's not crazy. At all. People can mock all they like.

There is a medical thing called hypogognic (sp)? Hallucinations. It's basically where your brain gets stuck between awake and asleep and you see things. Basically dreaming while awake. It can happen as you fall asleep or as you wake up. Sounds like what your son is experiencing but I would definitely have him checked out by a doctor.

[quote Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel]@PaulinaG93 you won't necessarily feel anything/see anything and it won't show on camera. Little children are incredibly susceptible to it. It's not crazy. At all. People can mock all they like. [/quote]
I'm not saying you are wrong but I think in this case it has medical background.

@romdowa

There is a medical thing called hypogognic (sp)? Hallucinations. It's basically where your brain gets stuck between awake and asleep and you see things. Basically dreaming while awake. It can happen as you fall asleep or as you wake up. Sounds like what your son is experiencing but I would definitely have him checked out by a doctor.

Would it still be that if it lasts for hours after he has initially woken up tho? The thing is once he wakes up he will stay up for hours and it keeps happening within him falling back asleep. I will let the doctor know all about it anyways. I knew him waking up and being a bad sleeper had a background with being autistic but I never thought what was happening when he was awake did too.

Must be very scary for you both.

[quote Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel]@PaulinaG93 you won't necessarily feel anything/see anything and it won't show on camera. Little children are incredibly susceptible to it. It's not crazy. At all. People can mock all they like. [/quote]
Agree. People knock the supernatural, which I think is incredibly naive. We are only people after all, in the vastness of the universe. People have lived before us and people will live after us, all with a spirit. We know fuck all.

My son has a night light which is a vertical aquarium thing with plastic fishes that drift up and down. Lots of bubbles and a droning noise. He finds it very relaxing and he loves the fishes. It's quite tall but we still have it up on a table so it's at eye height when he's in bed. It changes colours and is definitely distracting. We leave it on all night.

I found both of my DC did struggle around that age with differentiating between dreams and reality. They both went through a stage of not wanting to be left alone at night. This is without Autism or any additional needs. So I can imagine it's much harder for your DC OP.

Definitely mention it to the doctors about how you can manage it.

@Dontdripme

Must be very scary for you both.

It is. The worse part is I'm naturally a wuss so when he started dragging me out of bed I freaked out on the inside but couldn't let him know I was scared too.

@ElspethFlashman

My son has a night light which is a vertical aquarium thing with plastic fishes that drift up and down. Lots of bubbles and a droning noise. He finds it very relaxing and he loves the fishes. It's quite tall but we still have it up on a table so it's at eye height when he's in bed. It changes colours and is definitely distracting. We leave it on all night.

That sounds amazing tbh. I will be looking out for something similar for my son. I'm trying to piece things together atm as his last bedroom had loads of kiddy stickers on the walls and I think that might of helped him now he haven't managed to decorate his bedroom yet so I think that might be a factor as well.

@Santanomore

I found both of my DC did struggle around that age with differentiating between dreams and reality. They both went through a stage of not wanting to be left alone at night. This is without Autism or any additional needs. So I can imagine it's much harder for your DC OP.

Definitely mention it to the doctors about how you can manage it.

I think it depends on a child really. Some children that are not on a spectrum might go through stuff even harder I think. None the less I haven't had a full night sleep in about 3 years so I'm starting to feel so drained I'm struggling. I could take him being up at night and just sitting with him but not the screaming and freaking out on top of it. Last night has killed me, I don't really allow my son naps but we been napping all day really, just napping and eating to recover from last night.