I have never heard anyone at all say that once an autistic child takes sleep meds they must continue forever.. hopefully you and support people like her doctor can learn more about creating a good sleep environment and teach your child good sleep habits....get some ideas about what this means off the web. I just got my son a little workbook on amazon called" what to do when you dread your bed" a lot of it is stuff I will have to figure out how to convey to him. he has not ever ,ever slept very much. and I know from experience that the worst days are when YOU are exhausted beyond human tolerance. and your child being extremely tired too is acting like they do when they need sleep. in a word- terrible. and yes, those are very much the days you just cant see that it will ever be better. I say call her pediatrician and ask what else can be done right away. as in today.as for yourself. please call a friend, a neighbor,your spouse, a relative, someone from church. anybody and get them to watch her for a little while and go take a walk. remember too that this is just today and even though it seems like it will always be this way, it really will not. tomorrow could be a bunch better.or maybe not but at least it will be tomorrow. and by then maybe you will be what is better. take care!

I have been there in that dark place. Not sleeping can mess with our heads. Run to the drugstore, buy 3mg tabs of melatonin, dissolve in milk 30 minutes before bedtime. Perfectly safe. Doctor recommends it. My son has used it for four years. True lifesaver.

No, thats not true.

Thanks for all of the info. I'll have to look into this more.

Melatonin does work!!!!! Trying it for a month right now, but on my 2 year old who just is a night owl if we let him. I was afraid to try it because I had read that children could actually become "addicted" to it, meaning it would have to be taken all the time, but our nurse practitioner says it is mainly to be used to get them on a sleep schedule and then you can slowly stop giving it, but it is harmless she said. I got drops ordered through local drugstore. It is a miracle worker right now for us!