Paediatrician Referral

[Anon97531]

Hi,

I have a 3, almost four year old that has always since birth had issues sleeping. I've always been told to "wait and see".

My son has had other things that make him different to his siblings, but I've always been lead to believe it was just down to his age (terrible twos etc), he'd grow out of it, or that it was just due to tiredness.

Last year the GP tried to refer my son to a the paediatrician, but they rejected the referral because "they don't accept children with sleep issues".

A year later and he still doesn't sleep. He has trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. We've had a sleep nurser and I've been on a parenting course too, to help manage his behaviour.

The GP believes the reason they won't accept my LO's referral is because a lot of the behaviour he's displaying (tantrums, parallel playing, grunting/screaming, aggressiveness, hitting/punching, rigid with routines and obsessive behaviour) could be "normal" for his age, but it could be possible that he has additional needs.

BUT

Without trying to get him to sleep it's hard to establish if his behaviour is down to sleep or something else.

Anyway, my question is when did your LO get a paediatrician referral/appointment, how old were they and what symptoms were they displaying (if you're happy to share this info)

Apologies for the long post, but I'm an extremely exhausted mother and I'm at my wits end. I even looked at going private, but most places won't take children unless they're 5-6 years of age or older.

Also, if you have any advice that can help my LO sleep please share xx

You wouldn't get a referral to a Paediatrician for "just" not sleeping in our area too. However exhausting it is for you and your dh / dp.

You could contact Cerebra for advice

or

The Sleep Charity

Thank you for the advice @Kite22 I will definitely look into it.

I just assumed that because he was having behavioural issues (which I know could possibly be linked to the lack of sleep), and the gp previously suggested possibly adhd that a paediatrician would accept his referral.

The GP has outrightly said that there's nothing more she can do. She did mention medication is normally used to help persistent sleep issues, however a paediatrician has to prescribe it first before they would issue it.

I have looked at going private, but they don't normally take them on until they're 5 or 6, so I think if the suggestions that you make can't help and I get another rejected referral then I'll just have to wait it out for another few years and pay private.

Many thanks,

An extremely exhausted Mama xx