A diagnosis of ASD presents numerous challenges to families — challenges related to learning, to physical and social development, and (the number one thing we tend to concern ourselves with around this site) sleep. It’s estimated that anywhere from 40% – 80% of children with ASD diagnoses have significant sleeping issues related to their diagnosis.

Why do Autism Spectrum Disorders Affect Sleep?

Unfortunately, there’s no specific, easily-identified reason why children with ASD are more likely to have difficulty sleeping than those without. This is probably because ASD is a variable disorder itself. The way it manifests, and the problems it causes, vary from child to child.

There are, however, some general theories as to why ASD may cause sleep disorders:

• Social Cues: Children with ASD typically have a harder time reading social cues than other children do. This can make socializing hard for ASD children; it can also make bedtime hard! ASD children are less likely to register the social cues that it’s time to go to sleep (seeing their siblings putting on pajamas, listening to mom reading a bedtime story, etc.) They have difficulty seeing these as pre-bedtime rituals the way other children likely would.
• Increased sensitivity to light, sound, and/or touch: Some children with ASD under-respond to stimuli like light and noise; others over-respond. This is commonly referred to as Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD. It should be noted that while a large percentage (70% – 80%) of autistic children also have SPD, autism and SPD are separate diagnoses. So it’s possible for a child to have one without having the other. Children who are hypersensitive to stimuli may have difficulty sleeping. For example, a child who’s extremely sensitive to light may find even a dim nightlight distracting. Or a child who’s hypersensitive to sound may be awoken by even the faintest noises. And a child who is extremely sensitive to touch may find the feel of sheets next to his skin unbearable.
• Low levels of melatonin: The hormone melatonin helps regulate the human body’s circadian rhythms (or daytime/nighttime cycles.) For most of us, our melatonin levels rise when it gets dark outside, making us sleepy; then, they drop off when the sun comes up, helping us feel awake and alert. Children with ASD, however, have lower-than-normal levels of melatonin, which may explain why they sometimes have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep at night.
• Anxiety: Feeling anxious can make any child sleepless. Children with ASD, however, are especially prone to feelings of anxiety; a large percentage of children with ASD even suffer from anxiety disorders.

Effects of Sleep Disorders on Autistic Children and Their Families

Poor and interrupted sleep obviously affects a child with ASD’s nights, but this kind of chronic sleep deprivation may also affect his daytime behaviors. Sleep deprivation has been shown to have the same negative affects on children with ASD as on non-autistic children: increased irritability and aggression, depression, increased hyperactivity and emotional problems, and behavior problems.

And of course, the child isn’t the only one affected — parents and siblings feel the effects, too. Siblings, as well as parents, may suffer sleeplessness right alongside a child with ASD, and that kind of endless sleep deprivation can take a serious toll (maybe even put your marriage or relationship at risk.)

Helping Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Get a Good Night’s Sleep

The first step in helping your child with ASD get the rest she needs is to make sure that her sleep disorder isn’t related to something else. Make sure that her sleeplessness doesn’t stem from sleep apnea, teeth grinding, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), or another physical cause. Once you’ve ruled these out, you can begin implementing meaningful solutions.

Consider the following ways to help your child with autism get the sleep he needs:

• Keep a sleep diary: Keeping a sleep diary can help you identify any patterns in your child’s sleep disturbances and then work on solutions that match the problem patterns. And if your child is older, it can be a way for him to take ownership of his sleep disorder and become a partner (instead of merely a by-stander) in the problem-solving process.
• Develop a bedtime routine: Children with autism spectrum disorder must have predictable daily routines to help them feel safe and make sense of the world around them. Therefore, a bedtime routine (which is helpful for all kids) is especially crucial for ASD children. As you build a bedtime routine, try to build it with intention: don’t include any patterns or routines that you know you’ll have to break later (even if they’ll make your life easier in the short term!) Also keep in mind that children with autism don’t respond well to abrupt and unexpected changes. So it’s probably best to ease into the new routine.
• Evaluate the sleeping environment: If hypersensitivity is an issue for your child, evaluate their bedroom to see if anything there may be causing problems. Then, work to create a sleep environment that’ll be restful and soothing for your child. That could mean installing thick carpet to muffle noise (if your child is sensitive to sound) or hanging room-darkening curtains (if your child is sensitive to light). For children who are sensitive to touch, these weighted blankets have been shown to help. And you may even need to consider a custom-made bed designed specifically for autistic children (like this one) if your child is getting out of the bed and wandering the house at night, and you have concerns about her safety.
• Consider medication (but only as a last resort!) Vitamins and other supplements, like melatonin or iron, may help improve an ASD child’s sleep and are considered good options, as long as they’re administered under a healthcare provider’s supervision. We advise that you always speak to your doctor before giving your child any supplement. Sleep medications should be a last-resort option, and they should only be used once a family has considered any sleep associations or schedule problems and even then, we recommend they only be used in conjunction with some of the strategies listed above. Otherwise, once the child stops taking the medication, the sleeping issues will likely return full-force.

If you feel that your baby or toddler may be showing signs of ASD behavior, we recommend you consult your child’s healthcare provider for further information and testing.

Today, we live in a day and age in which families affected by ASD have abundant resources for help and education available to them (although there’s certainly room for more research into causes and treatments). And we here at the Baby Sleep Site count ourselves among those resources! We’re dedicated to helping every child, including those with special needs like Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Spectrum Disorder can present many challenges for families, to be sure, but it doesn’t have to mean years of sleep deprivation.

Have you been personally impacted by an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis? Share your story!

Please be sure to pick up your FREE copy of 5 (tear-free) Ways to Help Your Child Sleep Through the Night, our e-Book with tear-free tips to help your baby sleep better. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3-Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep (babies) or The 5-Step System to Better Toddler Sleep (toddlers). Using a unique approach and practical tools for success, our e-books help you and your baby sleep through the night and nap better. For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations, where you will receive a Personalized Sleep Plan™ you can feel good about! Sometimes it’s not that you can’t make a plan. Sometimes you’re just too tired to.

Article Sources:

Autism Society
http://www.autism-society.org/about-us/national-autism-awareness-month/

National Institutes of Health
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/asd.cfm

Web MD
https://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/helping-your-child-with-autism-get-a-good-nights-sleep

Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation
http://sinetwork.org/

SensoryProcessingDisorder.com
https://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/autism-anxiety-overload.html

Science Daily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100502080232.htm

Autism Day-by-Day Blog
https://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2012/03/sleep-deprivation-and-our-mental-health.html

The National Autistic Society (based in the UK)
https://www.autism.org.uk/about/health/sleep.aspx

Autism Support Network
http://www.autismsupportnetwork.com/news/establishing-positive-sleep-patterns-young-children-autism-spectrum-disorder-2271623

SensaCalm
https://www.sensacalm.com/

Noah’s World LLC
https://noahsworldllc.com/

The post How Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Affect Sleep appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

Today I will start a series of posts outlining the variety of sleep training methods that I recommend. I will post them in order (as I interpret them) from no (or very little) crying to the most (potential) crying. There are many variations of these methods, so I am only going to highlight the main gist of each method. Every parent can add tweaks here and there to accommodate their unique style and situation. At the end of the series, I will tell my story of my first son and, eventually, my second. So, let’s get started! I’m anxious to share this information!

Why Sleep Train?

The primary goal of sleep training is to help your baby learn how to fall asleep on his or her own. We often do not give babies enough credit that they can learn to do this when they are very young. Habits become harder and harder to break as they get older, and I have had people tell me that even waiting until 8 months has felt too late. It is also important to understand how sleep associations work and why it’s often the only thing standing in your and your baby’s way of getting a good night’s sleep. The same way sleep deprivation and sleep fragmentation are hard on you, it’s hard on your baby, too. Not enough sleep can lead to obesity and other problems, as well.

When Should You Start Sleep Training?

If you have an “easy” sleeper, you probably already had it done at just a few weeks old. Some babies simply start sleeping all night. I have said before, this website is not really geared towards parents of those babies. It’s simply not that easy for all of us.

For newborns, it never hurts to try to put down your baby when (s)he is still awake and see if (s)he will drift off unassisted, and we outline newborn-friendly sleep coaching approaches in our e-book, Essential Keys To Your Newborn’s Sleep. (We also offer special newborn-focused Personalized Sleep Plans^® as well!). As always, this depends on the baby and thus, as usual, I urge you to decide for yourself when the “right” time is.

It has to be right for you and your baby and you know your baby best. You must be in a place that you can 100% stay consistent and stick with it. That is an important step in any and all methods you choose. I have seen some parents start as early as 8-10 weeks and I’ve helped others get their 2 or 3 year old sleeping all night.

That is an important item to note for those who believe that all kids will grow out of not sleeping all night. I’m sure you’ve seen commercials for drugs that help adults sleep such as Ambien or Lunesta. Your child may or may not outgrow these sleep problems and they become habit more than anything.

Although babies go through sleep regressions, I always urge parents to look at the habits they may or may not help foster. Sure, it might be normal for some nightwakings throughout babyhood, but when your baby is waking up every 1-2 hours for a bottle or rocking in a rocking chair, this is not normal and not good for them. We ALL feel better on as little sleep fragmentation as possible and that includes your baby.

What’s My First Step?

Your first step in sleep training is developing a bedtime routine. Children thrive on routine and it sets expectations so they know what’s going to come next. If every night is different, it does not cue them that the day is coming to a close and that their body should start to relax and get ready to go to sleep. When done right, part way into the routine, your child will probably start to get very sleepy because (s)he is associating certain actions with going to sleep. A routine also helps when you are away from home on vacation or special outing because the routine is the same.

What Does A Bedtime Routine Include?

The routine is up to you and your baby/toddler/child and what (s)he likes or dislikes, but a typical routine might include diaper and pajamas, a quiet game, teeth brushing, potty (if applicable), a book (or 2), singing and cuddling, and then lights out.

I purposely missed a bath in the routine. I did that for a couple of reasons. Some people don’t want to or can’t give a bath every day and the other reason is if you have a spirited child like mine, a bath might actually have the opposite effect and rile up your child. For many kids, though, the warm water is relaxing, but for others the warm water and then the cooling off actually hypes them up a bit. In that case, you might just have a longer routine than others.

Get Personalized Bedtime Routine Help

A bedtime routine is a key part of any good sleep training plan. Need help creating one? Our consultants at The Baby Sleep Site^® are bedtime routine experts! When you work win t a consultant, she will create a Personalized Sleep Plans^® for your family that includes a bedtime routine customized to your schedule. Even better, once you have your Personalized Sleep Plan^®, your consultant will walk you through each step of implementing it at home.

Browse our list of consultation package options here.

Sleep Resources That WORK

For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.

Or, join our Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately!

You now have the first step in sleep training. Next in my series, Part 2, I will start with the first method for those who co-sleep.

But, first, do you have any special steps in your bedtime routine you’d like to share?

The post Sleep Training (From No Cry to Cry) Series – Part 1 – Bedtime Routines appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.