DS is 5 years old. He has his paediatrician assessment last month and was diagnosed with autism. He is also suspected dyspraxic. We have a follow up appointment with the paediatrician in August so I’ll specifically mention sleep issues then but I wondered if anyone has any advice in the meantime.
Despite being exhausted he is taking ages to fall to sleep at bedtime. He starts falling to sleep but then wakes up talking or crying about something. Usually something that’s upset him in the past (tonight he's fixated on the time he once lost me in soft play). His brain can’t switch off and he’s not usually asleep until 10pm. Prior to him starting school in September he would fall asleep between 7:30-8pm so it’s quite a drastic change over the last few months. He also usually wakes in the night and again will start talking about something really random. He gets up for school at 7:30am but he is in such a deep sleep he is so difficult to wake and he wakes up grumpy and tearful because he’s so exhausted. And I feel that his meltdowns and behaviours and so much worse when he’s tired.
I’ve tried audiobooks, tonies box and that sort of thing but it seems to worsen the problem because he has obsessions with gadget type things and anything with a speaker so it keeps him awake because he wants to hold it/play with it. He has always had a solid bedtime routine, no sugar before bed. Selfishly I find it hard because I get no downtime in an evening. He also definitely needs more sleep than he’s getting. How can I help him fall asleep?