Children with Aspergers deal with many issues. Last week I talked about Sensory Issues and an area that is directly affected by these issues is the quality and quantity of sleep a child with Aspergers gets.
Medical studies indicate that sleep disorders are more common among children with Aspergers as opposed to their typically-developing peers and that children with Aspergers have a more challenging time both falling asleep and waking up. With these inherent difficulties, it is even more important to make sleep a priority for both the child and parent.
Here are just a few of the ways sleep helps:
Happier Mom- The amount of sleep I get is directly proportional to the amount of stress I can cope with as I parent two special needs children. There are times when I think staying up late to watch a movie or surf the web is great stress relief, but I always pay for it the next day. I am more easily irritated by my children’s issues and much less patient with them.
Increased Tolerance Level- The sensory issues associated with Aspergers make every day life difficult, but with a good night’s sleep my children’s tolerance level for dealing with these issues is increased. They are less sensitive to noise, temperature and other sensory input and they are better able to cope when something does bother them. They are also less likely to fixate on a particular problem.
Fewer Melt Downs- As a result of my children’s increased tolerance level, I see a dramatic decrease in the amount of melt downs my children experience when they are well rested. Lack of sleep equals a day filled with temper tantrums and frustration for the entire family.
There are days when circumstances result in less sleep for my children. When that happens we adjust our expectations for the day (It’s not a good day to teach a new math topic for example or to address minor discipline issues.) and we try to go to bed early that evening.
Next week I’ll share with you some ways we get a better night’s sleep.
You May Also Like:
Aspergers: Help in the Middle of A Meltdown
My Top Five Ways to Deal With Stress
Aspergers: Adjusting After Vacation
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
My son(yes he has Asperger’s) is now 11 and we learned years ago that bed time starts at 7:00PM. He must go to his room and read or be quite. This helps so much he stays up some nights but it is the nights he needs to calm him self. This also gives me my time. He is never asleep before 9:00 yet he no longer sleep walks or screams because the blankets are scratching him. It took years of not being able to sleep for me to learn I am not the only one who needs wind down time.
My 5 yo daughter has PDD-NOS and we’ve had our share of sleep issues as well. For a long time, I gave her liquid melatonin extract (sometimes, an extra dose was needed for 3 am wakings). She, too, needs a couple of hours alone in her room, talking, soothing herself to sleep. But it’s gotten much, much better and she rarely needs melatonin now, only if she’s off track due to routine changes.
I am so glad she is doing better. We use magnesium to help with sleep issues.