Hi,
We are a family with a 3 year old son. He is on the waiting list to be diagnosed, however we both are certain he has autism. He is generally a really happy boy however in the past week or so, his sleep has become really poor. He has a real, real meltdown whenever he goes into his bed. He has fibre lights in his room and we have tried slowing the bedtime process down by putting him in his bed with a book and a fibre light to try and ease the process but this hasn’t worked either.
He seems to take comfort in his pram and wants to be taken out in his pram. Whilst this is no issue, we obviously want to use this somewhat sparingly and would want him to establish a routine with his bed. We are also from Scotland and with winter coming it will probably not always be feasible to take him out for a walk.
Last night, he eventually fell asleep at around 9.20 and woke up 3 times during the night for around 20 minutes each time before awakening at 7. In total that is probably around 8 hours of broken sleep which is not enough for a 3 year old. He napped for around 20 minutes today at midday and we tried to put him to bed at 8, however meltdown ensued.
We brought him back into the living room to calm him down as when he is heightened he cannot regulate this unless he gets something he wants. He then proceeded to bounce and run about the house. This is another area of concern as with this level of sleep he should be absolutely exhausted come night time.
We are at a loose end completely right now. He is on the waiting list for an autism diagnosis and whilst we have recently been assured we are near the top, this has been around a years wait. Should we go to the doctor for advice or is there any advice anyone can give?
Apologies for the long post however any advice would be greatly appreciated!
We are a family with a 3 year old son. He is on the waiting list to be diagnosed, however we both are certain he has autism. He is generally a really happy boy however in the past week or so, his sleep has become really poor. He has a real, real meltdown whenever he goes into his bed. He has fibre lights in his room and we have tried slowing the bedtime process down by putting him in his bed with a book and a fibre light to try and ease the process but this hasn’t worked either.
He seems to take comfort in his pram and wants to be taken out in his pram. Whilst this is no issue, we obviously want to use this somewhat sparingly and would want him to establish a routine with his bed. We are also from Scotland and with winter coming it will probably not always be feasible to take him out for a walk.
Last night, he eventually fell asleep at around 9.20 and woke up 3 times during the night for around 20 minutes each time before awakening at 7. In total that is probably around 8 hours of broken sleep which is not enough for a 3 year old. He napped for around 20 minutes today at midday and we tried to put him to bed at 8, however meltdown ensued.
We brought him back into the living room to calm him down as when he is heightened he cannot regulate this unless he gets something he wants. He then proceeded to bounce and run about the house. This is another area of concern as with this level of sleep he should be absolutely exhausted come night time.
We are at a loose end completely right now. He is on the waiting list for an autism diagnosis and whilst we have recently been assured we are near the top, this has been around a years wait. Should we go to the doctor for advice or is there any advice anyone can give?
Apologies for the long post however any advice would be greatly appreciated!