Sleep Issues Become More Problematic

I found out after giving melatonin to my pre-teen non-sleeper that you aren't supposed to give it to kids at all. I wouldn't advise it. I do know of supplements that can help with Asperger's and a company that provides them at cost. You can find out more by clicking the "Mannarelief" button on my Web site: susanjordanbrown.com. Feel free to call me with questions. I'm a freelance writer, too, by the way. My home-based business with Mannatech gives me the freedom to stay home and write. What do you write?

C.,
Have you listened to your son while he sleeps to see if he is sleeping soundly or uninterrupted sleep? My son had a similar issue and it wasn't until he got in bed with my husband and I one night and I heard him breathe. He was almost 3 yrs old at the time and I noticed that he would snore extremely loud and then for a period of about 10 seconds he would stop breathing altogether. Of course this scared me so we went to the pediatrician who told me his tonsils were so enlarged that they were touching and he needed them out. The ENT confirmed that his tonsils were causing him to have sleep apnea which is very dangerous and over time the lack of sleep can cause behavioral problems as well as other medical problems. Check on him when he is sleeping to see if you notice a difference in his breathing patterns and if so, bring him to have his tonsils checked out. The day my sons were removed he began sleeping all night again. Good luck!
T.

Be sure to have the same bedtime and routine each night. Also, try giving him a back rub or massaging his face and hair at bedtime. You could combine this with him pretending to be asleep and see if that works. It should relax him enough that he will nod off. If all else fails and you are really desperate, a child psychiatrist can prescribe Clonidine, which is sometimes given to special needs children to help turn their racing minds off. God bless.

C., I know that it can be trouble some with a child who just does not want to go to sleep. My son is 5 and is just like me AND my husband. I could stay up all night with no problem, and my husband is a morning person. My son can stay up with me and still be the first one awake, all with NO nap. It's amazing! Here's a few things that I have done that has helped. First thing, put a chart up on his wall, i made on with a piece of paper with lines. Make it out for each day of the week for several weeks. If he goes to bed on time, no problem, doesn't get up or play with toys he will get a star, if he does bad, then he gets an X. If at the end of the week he has all stars then he gets a reward. with my son, i didn't even go through a whole page before it became a habit. Another thing i trained him to do is "Pretend" that he is sleeping. It took a few tries to train him, but he almost thinks it is a game. Put his hands on his belly and close his eyes. Sometimes just getting him calmed down with no distractions will get them to go to sleep. Something else to consider is if he is still taking a nap during the day and at what time? If nap time doesn't end until a few hours before bed, then he won't want to go to sleep. Sometimes with my son, unless we get up real early for something or he has played hard during the day, instead of him taking a nap he watches a movie. That still gives me the break during the day, and he will be tired at bed time. Tries this for a couple of weeks to have him develope new habits and things will get better.

Have you tried Strattera 0.5 mg. with a low dose of Trazadone before bedtime?

My 17 yo son has Asperger's - very high functioning, but still has issues. His body clock is just different. During the summer months we often try the 'sleep when I'm sleepy' thing and it seems like he's on a 24 hour awake, 12 hour asleep cycle. He knows that I don't have a problem with his weird hours, as long as I don't have to deal with moodiness and crankiness...and he'd better get up on time for school on his own or he's in BIG trouble and will have to go to bed when I say for the remainder of that week.

I think if I had been more rigorous in my sleep training when he was young it might have helped but I'm not certain of that. His doctor put him on Risperdal when he was younger and he didn't like the way it made him feel at all, so we stopped after only 1 month. He is old enough now that when he needs sleep and can't get to sleep, he takes a Benedryl.

I have just taken a different approach with him, and I think you have to do that with kids like him. He's different and, instead of constantly battling his differences, we try to find ways to work with or around them.

I'm not sure how old your little one is, but I have a 4 yr old little boy. My daughter, 7 - easily falls asleep. However, my little boy will stay awake forever - he just has problems calming down to go to sleep. He is a Daddy's boy - so it really helps to have Daddy read him a book and lay down with him at night. We usually switch off nights on laying with him. But he does so much better with his Dad.

I am also a recent journalism graduate. How did you get into Freelance writing? How is the best way to get started? I've searched the web, but am afraid of getting stuck in a scam . . . Do you have any good suggestions?

Try neurofeedback. That should help with the Asperger's, too, I would think.

Neurofeedback trains the brain to fire neurons in the optimal way that a healthy brain ideally does; both generally and for particular situations (like going to sleep, concentrating, and so on). It works for anxiety, depression, addictions, ADHD, epilepsy, and I bet they've been developing it for autism/Aspergers, too. The nice thing is, there are no drugs and few side effects, if any, and they're mild and harmless.

You should find a neurofeedback clinic in your area to provide your son with the more effective active form of neurofeedback, but getting him some music (passive form) wouldn't hurt, either. Using music for helping him to fall, and stay, asleep, can be very effective. There's brainsync.com and hemi-sync.com. They have mp3s, tapes and cds for many different situations, and sleep is one of them. Very effective!

For more info on nf, read Symphony in the Brain.

L.

My son is 7 years old and also has Aspergers. He always had the most difficult time sleeping and it was seriously affecting his behavior and the quality of his life. I also had tried melatonin, but it didn't work. I tried routines, and did everything that I could think of. Finally, his developmental pediatrician recommended medication. At first I was totally against it. But finally decided that I could at least try it, and if it had any effects on him we would stop. He takes 0.5 mg of clonodine at night, which has saved both his and my sanity! It helps him fall asleep and stay asleep. He isn't too drowsy in the morning, and he has no side effects. Of course every child is different, but I would try talking to his doctor if you haven't already. Kids with Aspergers present special challenges, but I wouldn't have it any other way!