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Sleep
A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question 💭

Is there any thing can help autistic kid to stay asleep during the night? My son usually gets up in the middle of the night for 2- 3 hours then he goes back to sleep . Now he is 7 years old and we had this sleep problem since he was a baby . We had tried several kind of sleep medications but nothing really worked . Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

posted July 9, 2019
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A MyAutismTeam Member

FYI:
It's our understanding that the melatonin helps them FALL asleep, and the benadryl KEEPS them asleep.

posted July 9, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

I put an mp3 player in my sons room. I loaded it with old radio shows. It worked after about three nights. My son (like me) needed a brain distraction to b able to fully relax. Melatonin didnt work for him.

posted July 9, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

Hi maryjohn12, my son sounds very similar, he’s 9, and will go to sleep quite well, but wakes and is up for 1-2 hours in the night around 1am. Our paediatrician says melatonin is only useful for falling asleep, not staying asleep. I listened to a fascinating podcast regarding sleep/ASD with exactly these issues. Try googling it? Hope this helped.

posted July 10, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

We use melatonin, 1/2 hour before bed. And music, Mozart and Beethoven seem to have a calming effect and the noise blocks out other distractions in his environment.

posted July 9, 2019
A MyAutismTeam Member

For years we have been giving our three ASD kids Benadryl for sleep. My Oldest and Youngest also get melatonin. My middle son kept waking up crying when we tried melatonin with him, so we assumed it caused nightmares. He only gets Benadryl now (liquid). We give our 13 yr old 5 mg melatonin (Natrol brand), and 2 tsp liquid benadryl. We give our 11 yr old two children's Benadryl melts. And we give our daughter 2.5 mg melatonin and 1 1/2 tsp liquid Benadryl. All these are safe and have been VERY effective. Of course, with age and weight gain, we have to bump it up from time to time, but not very often...maybe once every 18 months.
I hope this helps! Our child neurologist is 100% behind us on it btw.

posted July 9, 2019

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