Hi, just been to an appointment with the GP for my DS in relation to his sleep issues and feeling once again so deflated.
He has a diagnosis of Autism and ADHD, we went private due to long waits. However it meant we were not offered any help through the NHS as had to wait for it to be ratified. Now they have realised they can't cope with demand and are accepting private diagnosis.
Getting to sleep has always been a major issue for him, takes him ages, resulted in meltdowns every night, family at breaking point due to stress of coping with it, his mental health was awful, violence towards us, he was self harming, it was terrible. GP referred us twice to Paediatrician to explore Melatonin but was refused and referred to sleep support. We engaged although it really wasn't bedtime routine causing problems.
Since moving up to High school things have improved except his bedtime. He has major anxiety about going to bed as he finds it so hard to fall asleep. He is 12 and after dinner we are consumed with supporting him in a routine to try to achieve a calm bedtime. I have to sit in my bedroom till he falls asleep (did make progress and was able to move from sitting in his room). It can't take up to 2 hours for him to fall asleep some nights.
I just feel if he was able to fall asleep more easily (with the help of Melatonin) then his anxiety would stop and things would improve. He misses out on having sleep overs with friends, going on school trips.
The GP agreed to refer but said he felt he didn't meet the threshold to be prescribed Melatonin and will be encouraged to focus upon his anxiety. The mental health support in my area is rubbish, never wanted to know when we were near breaking point in the past, even when I called the crisis line!
So, if your child is around the same age (12) and has sleep issues what do you do to help them? What would you suggest I do next as I feel so fed up of trying to get help and failing my DS.
Sorry long post!