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Neen
Emu Egg
Joined: Sep 05, 2008
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:51 pm Post subject: MELTDOWN ADVICE / SLEEPLESSNESS ADVICE DESPERATELY NEEDED |
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| First of all, I'm so happy that I'm not alone...thanks to everyone for just being Aspie Parents willing to write about your experiences. Our son is 8 years old and having increased meltdowns. We're not even given any warnings...one moment he's fine and the next, he's literally going balistic. We have him on anxiety meds (celexa) and this was even hard for us to do, but we really were at wits end. He's been in therapy, but just the "while-we-wait" variety that they offer before we can be finally taken off of a 6-9 month waiting list for "real" help. Our boy is also on 6 mg's of Melatonin and was just fine for awhile. He has recently begun to wake up at 4:30 am again...this is with a 9:00 pm bedtime. ANY advice would be most welcome. I thank you, again!!! |
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blueroses
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Feb 11, 2007
Age: 25
Posts: 64
Location: PA, USA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Neen.
I've had problems with insomnia most of my life, but I've found a number of things the past few years that really help. I think it's great your son is on Melatonin. (I wish I'd discovered it earlier in life myself). Is he on B vitamins as well? Taking a B complex seems to help me a great deal in terms of having a deeper, more refreshing sleep and I've heard other adult Aspies tell me the same as well.
One thing I think a lot of professionals seem to miss is the importance of exercise. Exercise helps me with managing anxiety, insomnia and depression, the last of which often causes early morning waking--even in kids. I've never tried anxiety or depression meds, so I can't speak from personal experience, but someone once told me he found regular cardio workouts even more effective than meds. I know that a lot of Aspies don't like team sports, but even taking regular walks as a family could help. Some exercises can also help with Asperger's-related motor skills problems, too. (Bonus!  )
I know drastic elimination diets are controversial and just not practical if your son has adversions to certain foods. But, I can say that after being completely gluten and dairy free for about a year and a half, I do sleep and focus much better, for whatever it is worth. I am also less sensitive to sensory overload, which could play a role in triggering your son's meltdowns. I know GF/CF diets are not for everyone--I'm just sharing my own experience.
For me, chocolate and artificial sweeteners/preservatives seem to trigger my insomnia, as well. You may want to try having him avoid these foods, as a smaller step, and see if there is a difference. (Really, some studies suggest everyone should avoid artificial sweeteners and chemical additives, so it can't hurt anyhow, I guess). Good luck. I hope some of this helps him! |
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ster
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 24, 2005
Posts: 2398
Location: new england
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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| how long has he been on his current anxiety meds ?...is it possible that some of the increased anxiety is due to the meds, or maybe some change within his environment ?........you're really going to have to sit back and analyze the situation again. it's possible that you may have overlooked some change that has taken place that you would normally not view as stressful, but is stressful in his eyes.......................our family's been through this. it's so stressful looking for answers and re-examining things, but in the end it's the only way we ever came to any solutions for our children. |
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aspergian_mutant
Learning to Walk
Joined: Oct 28, 2004
Posts: 1486
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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Take him for long walks or if there is a pool around long swims.
then a nice hot bath, then have the child read for a while or you read too them.
remove any and all sound and light distractions if possible.
stop using medications, stop giving nap times.
give small doses of caffeine and a vitamin in the mornings or some kind of children's energy drink.. |
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Apatura
Mimosa pudica
Joined: Jul 25, 2006
Age: 35
Posts: 1240
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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I'm sorry you are going through this... maybe you should take him off the melatonin. I found that melatonin made my sleep far more disturbed than without it. I would sooner try benadryl before melatonin.
The only way I can control my son's meltdowns is to remove access to his obsessions (computer, video games, internet) unless he can behave-- no hurting himself or others, no saying nasty things, etc.. |
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Dasha
Blue Jay
Joined: Jan 09, 2008
Posts: 89
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:56 pm Post subject: Re: MELTDOWN ADVICE / SLEEPLESSNESS ADVICE DESPERATELY NEEDE |
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| Neen wrote: | | First of all, I'm so happy that I'm not alone...thanks to everyone for just being Aspie Parents willing to write about your experiences. Our son is 8 years old and having increased meltdowns. We're not even given any warnings...one moment he's fine and the next, he's literally going balistic. We have him on anxiety meds (celexa) and this was even hard for us to do, but we really were at wits end. He's been in therapy, but just the "while-we-wait" variety that they offer before we can be finally taken off of a 6-9 month waiting list for "real" help. Our boy is also on 6 mg's of Melatonin and was just fine for awhile. He has recently begun to wake up at 4:30 am again...this is with a 9:00 pm bedtime. ANY advice would be most welcome. I thank you, again!!! |
Could it be sudden sensory changes then or the sounds of something he can hear that you can can't such as electricity in the walls?
7 hours is a bit less sleep for a child of that age, but not so abnormal that its cause for a concern in itself. Its possible thats all the sleep he naturally needs rather than the medicine keeping him up. |
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aspergian_mutant
Learning to Walk
Joined: Oct 28, 2004
Posts: 1486
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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| ya, melatonin gives me nightmares |
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juancho
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Aug 05, 2006
Age: 83
Posts: 74
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 1:27 am Post subject: |
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I take melatonin for a couple of weeks or so -- until it stops working. Then I go off it and manage to sleep pretty well -- for a while. Thereupon I go on it again, repeating the cycle.
It's not a perfect amswer, but it helps. |
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DW_a_mom
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 1251
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 3:50 am Post subject: |
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Many Aspies have sleep issues, and if he isn't getting enough sleep it will set him on edge. It's a difficult issue to deal with, and I think the other posts have laid out most of the common sense advice out there.
What I am wondering is if you have tried looking for the stress triggers in your son's life. They often are not obvious, and can occur hours or days away from the melt-down, but they break down the defenses and basically set your child up for losing it. Sensory issues, adjustment issues, problems at school, etc. You need to find the triggers and mitigate them, and that reduces the meltdowns. It can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, I know, but the more we've become aware of the triggers for my son, the better we've done with him.
It can be the oddest (to us) things. My son went through a phase of being terrified by automatic flush toilets. He established these huge patterns to avoid them, and trying to stick to those patterns was stress in itself.
So your eyes need to be wide, wide open. But do look. If you haven't already.
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Avatar copyright DW's Studio
Last edited by DW_a_mom on Sat Sep 06, 2008 2:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Neen
Emu Egg
Joined: Sep 05, 2008
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:08 am Post subject: thank you |
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| Thank you so much for your advice! I don't even get this kind of feedback from his "therapy" group. =) Neen |
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aurea
Deinonychus
Joined: Sep 22, 2007
Posts: 381
Location: melb,Australia
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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Hi, not sure if this will help but...I had another child staying with my family for approx 3 months he was on meds to sleep then meds to wake him up (go figure). He is now drug free, not perfect but drug free.
His doc advised us that when slowly taking him off his night time meds, we had to keep him up for two hours past his normal bed time, even if he wanted to go to bed. Then we had to religously wake him up at the normal wake up time every morning (here it was 7.30am) regardless of how long he had slept threw the night. Retrain his sleep patterns. Each week we would decrease his bed time by approx 15 minutes. So start at 11pm, next week 10.45 etc.. Its hard work, but it was working.
And you have to increase his physical activity as the other posters have said. The other thing to do is have a wind down/quiet time set every night. No pc,video games etc reading or non stimulative tv only, but again no bed until 11pm. By about week 3 this boy I had staying with me was begging to go to bed and then falling asleep within minutes, and staying asleep.  Good luck. |
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mysterious_misfit
Velociraptor
Joined: Apr 25, 2008
Age: 27
Posts: 438
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| Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:24 am Post subject: |
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| When I'm in meltdown mode, I need the thing causing the meltdown to be removed from my environment. What is causing his meltdowns? Your son is old enough to be a part of this, include him in creating a more peaceful environment that makes him feel good. Also I just figured out that for me, singing to myself helps curb a meltdown. It forces me to keep control of my voice and lets some energy out. |
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