Talking about this again. Braincore therapy - helps insomnia. So in a nutshell, we think in 5 different brainwaves, they've figured out how to map those waves, associate them with different neurological disorders AND THEN retrain the brain to make the appropriate brainwaves. We use BC on both my boys. my son w Autism uses it to make brainwaves that calm his emotions and my 9yo uses it to help his brain make Delta (i think) waves, the waves that lead to a deep sleep. 7 sessions and he's in bed by 9, asleep by 930 instead of 1am. NO drugs, non invasive, worth every penny.

My son is similar. Bedtime has always been stressful. Would you consider medication on a short term basis to establish a better routine? One thing we have tried is Vistaril. It is a stronger antihistamine then sold over the counter. If you want to stick with OTC medication try Benadryl or Melatonin. You could try for a week or two and see what happens. One other thing, limiting screen time is key. I need to take the computer away at least 1 hour before bedtime. Please know you are not alone. Good luck.

What worked for my son was a combination of things:
1) a small dose of melatonin (1 mg)
2) a weighted blanket
3) sound machine/ calming sound app for the iPhone he uses as his personal electronic gadget.

We also put an alarm on his electronic device so that he knows when to turn it off (we try to make it about half an hour before sleep)
Part of it for us-the biggest part IMHO, was getting him invested in the plan- picking out the fabrics for the blanket, choosing the sounds for the alarm and the calming sound app.

Avoiding parenting? There are lots of studies on sleep disorder in ASD kids which is much more prevalent in ASD than normal kids. Melatonin is also found to be low in ASD in studies. It is not a parenting thing. We are fortunate that our son doesn't have sleep issue but we are still very comfortable giving melatonin 2x a week for its antioxidant and anti inflammatory effect - he is also more calm the next day. I've used it as well several times as needed. We also have a bedtime routine (is that parenting?) and he is able to fall asleep by himself and not wake up in the middle of the night.

In the past we used Melatonin for our daughter. When we moved she seemed to go to sleep well without it so we stopped. We are not facing using it again. When we moved we moved near Disneyland and was going there almost every day for the first couple of months. By the end of the night at the park she was so quiet and calm that we joked we had walked the Autism right out of her. We did exhaust her hence no need for the supplement. Recently we visited the neurologist for a different matter and in discussing her sleep patterns, we told her we had used melatonin in the past and thinking about doing it again because she is not going to sleep at a reasonable time. The doctor said it was not a bad idea and that studies are showing that many kids on the spectrum are deficient in melatonin levels. So in giving our daughter the melatonin we are supplementing what she is needing supplemented. I do not know the studies first hand (I have not researched it) but since we are no longer doing the vigorous exercise in the day (which the doctor also recommended for aiding sleep) as we did when we first moved and since using melatonin for us has worked in the past, we are returning to it when school starts.