Should I let my Aspergic like 8yr old dd stay up as long as she wants

[Wills]

My dd1 is under diagnosis for Aspergers but she has an awful lot of characteristics. One thing we've read is that they don't sleep anywhere near as much as ... (us actually). dd1 has always taken hours to go to sleep and then gets up early etc. I perservered with still sending her to bed at what I think is a reasonable time given her age. She takes a minimum of 2 hours to go to sleep on a good day. We've tried all kinds of different things including music and reading time etc but in the end I've always said lights out music off at a certain time. She then takes ages to go to sleep. During that time she worries terribly and can really build small things into serious dramatic events. HOWEVER, when she does go to sleep late i.e. she's taken extra long to get off to sleep, she's distinctly tired the following day AND then finds it even harder to get to sleep the next night. At the same time reading some of the books seems to indicate that they simply don't need as much sleep and so possibly I should just leave her with her lights on happily reading her books until she's so tired she drops off quickly? Any advice?

Your second option sounds a good one to me , shes in her room and ocupied until sleepy, you have a more peaceful night - without up and downing trying to persuade her to sleeep if shes not ready.

Dont know about you but i rarely feel like getting straight into bed and going to sleep, have a bit of chilling time and relax (huh yeh ) before falling asleep.

My DS5 has Asperger's and I have long given up trying to get him to go to sleep at a set time. He goes to sleep when he is ready and not before. He definitely needs less sleep than most children of his age.

hi wills i have a 9 yr old with AS. She also has Adhd and is on meds so this affects her sleep so sometimes we give her melatonin (a natural drug to help her sleep). She normally drops off within 30 mins. Lots of my friends whose children have AS and find it hard to sleep use melatonin with great success.

It's worth finding out more about the melatonin. I remember as a child lying awake for hour after hour, fretting (er, I still do ), so I'd have loved to have been able to read quietly instead.

DD actually needs a proper amount of sleep now, but as a toddler she never would and just played with her light on until she was ready to sleep (when she turned it off and went to bed ).

Leaving her to her own devices sounds best to me.

I also have a DD (6) who is diagnosed with AS, she is actually ok at getting to sleep, but we do have long periods of where she wakes alot during the night.

I agree with the others, go with your second option.

My mildly AS DS (8yrs) can take ages to get to sleep. He won't settle until he has had a read and he can listen to CD. He is usually in bed by 9pm but rarely turns the light out before 9.30pm and only then to listen to the CD. It doesn't seem to keep him awake as he takes longer to go to sleep if we try to insist he has an early night with no distractions. If it isn't a story then he has an instrumental lullaby CD which he has had since he was a year old which is just a bit of background noise to get him comfy.

I would let your DD read in bed for a certain length of time, say 20 or 30 minutes after she gets into bed and then let her listen to her CD in the dark. But then I would say that as that is what works for us.

There was a thread the other day about the time people send their children to bed and I felt really bad that DS seems to go to bed so much later than children his age. Then on the other hand I thought he wouldn't sleep if he went to bed that early (8-8.30pm) anyway so why feel bad about it. Most of the time he sleeps as long as he needs.

my son listens to chill fm during the night which is really good, so if he wakes there is something on.

it is hard when they can't get to sleep but I try and keep to the routine of the same time each evening, he can read if he wants to, but their brains need quiet shut down time. It's hard otherwise to go straight from playstation, tv (or fight with brother!) into bed.

I have have a 10 year old with AS, and have given up sending him to bed at a 'normal' bedtime. He just doesn't sleep, rattles around, gets stressed and disturbs his younger brother and sister. He stays downstairs in the evenings now and usually takes himself off to bed between 10 and 11 (about the same time as me!). He still wakes up at 7-7.30 and is obviously getting enough sleep. Go with what works for you and your child. I have long given up trying to conform to 'social norms' as far as DS1 is concerned!

Hi,

I agree with the suggestion of melatonin. You could also try epsom salt baths (magnesium sulphate)
You can buy it from the chemist and just add a small amount to the bath water. You gradually increase the amount.
I followed the instructions from the website Treating Autism.
Works a treat for our DS. He's usually asleep by 8.30 nowadays (used to be midnight...arghh)

x

sarah-we do the same with DS5. He actually takes longer to settle if you send him to bed, and just ends up getting stressed. His older brother needs more sleep and goes to bed first. DS5 normally goes to bed at the same time as me-about 11.