Simple bedtime routines and calming sleep tips that helped an autistic child fall asleep faster and enjoy more peaceful nights naturally.
Putting my autistic child to bed used to be a near-impossible task but with the passing of time and plenty of help, bedtime has become much easier. Bedtime was quite a stressful affair that was punctuated with my child constantly waking up, crying and my attempting to calm things down for an evolving length of time. heck, there were nights that I would spend the span of two to three hours just trying to get the child close his eyes and sleep. I was quite tired, confused, and sometimes very desperate, to be honest.
However, as I became more willing to make simple changes to my everyday house, the situation kept on improving. No one will understand the necessity to take more than a 2 or 3 steps backwards in order to move ten steps forward in achieving their set goals. I cannot say that the sleep does not control this evening. But that’s merely what is required with all the people in the house during this time.
The first thing that helped was the creation of the exact same bedtime routine every single night as to acquire good changes quickly. Children with ASD tend to thrive in environments that are predictable. We set up an order of bath time, pajamas, teeth-brushing, book reading, and lights off every evening without alterations. At first, this made no sense in the fight against my child’s sleep issues, but after just two weeks, my parent manipulation started working: my child began to grasp that it was goodnight time.
Background noise and hyperactivity are often cited as the primary causes of restlessness and difficulty in getting sleep. I can remember once when the child got very hyper when exposed to loud noises or the TV and thrown to sleep. Therefore we have been enforcing the ‘No TV, no tablets, no phones’ at least an hour to bedtime. The entire place fell quiet, and it seemed to work out quite well.
The treatment was surprisingly easy too: the changed environment factor. My child was one of those with conditions where contrary noises, textures or colours had some form of an effect. We switched to way softer blankets, loose cotton wear and a low light. Little things that people tend to dismiss such as the tagging inside pajamas can actually have more adverse effects on autistic kids.
Also, the introduction of a soothing, constructive activity at bedtime was great. Instead of just hopping in the sack, we introduced reading calm tales and playing some quiet melodies. On some occasions some relaxation aids such as white noise and rains sounds were used in other. The purpose was to relax the body as part of a routine.
The most crucial thing was the timing. As children, we found that eating sweet snacks before going to bed made us stay up later. More so, if one eats heavy meals too much closer to bedtime, they usually develop the dislike for even standing/walking. Combinational approach of giving dinner early and avoiding caffeine and excess sugar after supper were other alternative preventive measures opted. From my personal experience ~ ~ just eating proper food and water during the day seemed to raise the quality of sleep.
There is perhaps no harder lesson for me than realizing that sleep problems do not get better if I do everything to fall asleep. In the past, when I was stepping out of bed for the 15th time, I was fed up with it. This made it more difficult for anyone to go to bed without feeling stressed. However, as time went by, I decided to become more composed and tolerant, and over time, getting your child to bed became a pleasant experience.
Also, remaining active during the warmer hours of the day was a factor. In the absence of more active activities, such as active playtime outdoors, the child’s behaviour rapidly deteriorated and therefore mood elevation and recovery became unattainable. On those days when the movements were very limited, the likelihood of slumbering was always reduced.
