6 year old DS with Autism Afraid to sleep alone all of a sudden

[MumOfTwoBoyssss]

I just wondering if there's any mum's out there that have experienced this, my ds has autism, but up untill the summer holidays last year, he was sleeping absolutely fine, his routine is still the same, he'll have his dinner, bath, story, I let him know how much I love him and I used to just let him fall asleep on his own, so since maybe two weeks into that summer holidays last year, obviously I kept the routine the same, but as soon as I walk out of the bedroom he just starts to cry, scream, jump out the bed and run to the bathroom to just sit and cry and just be really really emotional, we've tried everything, night lights, turning the hallway light on, putting a film on 2 hours before his bedtime, it's got to the point that I have to lay with him untill he falls asleep and I have a 19 month old aswell who actually sleeps with no problems, but I've ran out of ideas, so anyone have any experiences of what worked for them or did they just grow out of it in the end? Both my boys used to sleep on their own together every night now it's all over the place because my eldest won't go sleep on his own, any help advice or experiences would be great and thank you in advance :)

I'm sorry I dont have any advice, bumping for you

What are peoples opinions on the bcg vacination??

What are your opinions on the bcg vacination?

It sounds like his anxiety has come from somewhere- maybe there's something in his room that has changed or he has noticed? My eldest refused to sleep in the top bunk after happily sleeping there for a year and a half, it turns out she had made up a pattern in her head out of the artex ceiling dots and it scared her so much she now sleeps in a lower bed. It might be a smell, a street light, it could be school triggering anxiety that is coming out at bedtime. For now I would settle the 19 month old first, then spend time with your eldest at bedtime. Do you have a partner who can share the load with you? Switching in after 30 mins or so? My asd dd wouldnt let me leave but if her dad did bedtime she would be happy with him leaving after 30 mins or so as she has always hated me leaving her, her leaving me is fine by contrast.

Sorry this is my first time posting but I've been reading these forums for about 7 or 8 years now so have no idea how to tag people

@Mammabear31 - no worries, hope you find the answers you're looking for :)

@Jade1803x - I have no idea, to be perfectly honest with you, my eldest DS got his done at 8 weeks old, I had no knowledge of it other than I got mine done at school when I was 14 years old, and was told it was to apparently protect from TB, and to this day I still don't have an opinion on it and I'm 27

What's your opinion on the bcg vaccination?

@ValiaH - me and my 2 sons, we all share a bedroom, I'm in a 1 bedroom flat, speaking of anxiety, I do remember it all starting when our local mall was set on fire, and from where my flat is he was able to see the smoke from it, I don't know if he's scared it will happen again, he doesn't have a speech, so he can't tell me, I also live right next to a main road where he can hear cars and buses drive past, I'm thinking it could be that aswell, I do have a partner yess and he does help and we do take it in turns, but he just sometime takes a long time to settle, I settle my 19 month old down first, he will fall asleep with no problems at all, I'd leave him on the sofa with a massive blanket behind him and once DS1 falls asleep, it close to 11 pm, like now, I'm setting my DS2 down, and my DS1 as we speak is crying in the bedroom, my partner is not here right now to help he's at work, so I'm doing this by myself for now, I usually let him sleep in my bed even though he has his own, and leave a film on for him but it's so late at night, not too sure what to do now.

Thank you for the advice @ValiaH and your experience and thank you for all your replies, is there anymore experiences out there? I'm hoping he grows out of it, he's done this before when I was pregnant with DS2 but he got over it quickly, and went back to falling asleep on his own, he was 3 years old at the time

Yes, my 13 year old dd with autism developed a fear of sleeping alone or even being in a room alone about three years ago. I haven't much advice as I just let her sleep with me and be with me until she started to cope better. 3 years on she will be in her room alone now but must have music playing or the TV on but as for sleeping alone; she hasn't slept a full night alone in her room for three years now. I've accepted it. She will get there one day I am sure.

Oh one thing I just remembered that helped a bit, was lava lamps. She had one at school too and used to look at it when she felt stressed. She had two in her room and if they were on and moving she would be much more relaxed and likely to spend time in there.

@WendyMoiraAngelaDarling aww thank you for that!! My brother suggested a lava lamp a few years back but never thought it would work, but DS1 has a sensory disorder where he would flap his hands and tilt his head to the side and tense up with excitement when he sees certain flashing lights, I'm gonna buy one for him, tonight, I just put a film on for him in the end, and layed with him till he fell asleep, he fidgits so much bless him but he only just fell asleep an hour ago, I just know he's probably gonna wake up around 3am screaming which is what he does, don't know if it's night terrors he might be having, how does your DD sleep now?

@ValiaH how does your DC sleep now? Do they sleep any better now that she sleeps on the bottom bunk?

I just wanted to update on what DS sleep is like now, to be honest, all suggestions I did try and worked for only a couple months but he's gone backwards and now will only fall asleep with me in the room, my now 2 year old still has no problems going to sleep and seems to comfort his brother when he sees him stressing out over bedtime, hope everyone is doing ok.