New Bed Issues

I have an autistic 4 year old son, I just moved back in april and got a new bed for my two kids. I wanted to try to make the transition as easy as possible, so my mom and I went out and got all the Thomas the Train bedding that we could find for his new bed. He is a really big fan of Thomas the Train. He loved it. I did have to stay in the room for a couple weeks next to his bed til he fell asleep, but now he is doing just fine. Try getting bedding of his favorite thing to let him know that it is his very own special bed for just him.

I teach parenting classes here in town and I have a book you shoud get. It is called "the no cry sleep solution" it is by Elizabeth Pantley. She is awesome, great mother and teacher. She also has a website that can give you more information pantley.com and she will answer you question!

Another great book is "The Baby Sleep Book" By Sears and Sears.

Sleep is one of my most interesting subjects and I have read and researched many teachers and authors. These two are the best!

You can have peaceful sleep for you and you baby.

Be Blessed, N.

F.,

I have a 3 year old autistic son. To get him out of my bed, I moved both of us into his bed and slept there with her for a few months. Then I started going in with him to get him to sleep but then getting up and leaving. There was about a month where he was up a lot at night but we just kept putting him back to bed in his room (my husband actually helped a bit). The transition was hard and he still gets up sometimes and moves into my bed with me early in the morning (like around 4 a.m.) but he's probably sleeping through the night in his own bed about half the time now. Autistic kids are really resistent to change so the only thing I've found that really works is patience, persistence and lots of encouragement and love. You could also ask his teacher and therapists for some ideas. Autistic kids can be as different from one another as night and day so what worked for one kid may not work for another.

Honestly, the big catalyst for getting him out of my bed was having a new baby. I actually miss sleeping with him. I really like sleeping with my kids. Especially with my son, he's really active and it is the only time he really likes to snuggle.

T.

What I've done with my boys, age 3 3/4 years and 21 months, is to wean them off of sleeping in my bed. I start out putting them in their room, and sitting on the floor by them, without interacting with them...if they sit up or try to leave the bed, I would quietly redirect them to bed, and eventually they fall asleep. You do this for a few nights in a row. Then, you start moving away on the floor...instead of right by their bed, you are eventually in the hall. After a week in the hall, I can tell him that I will be right back, and I come check him every 15-20 minutes and he stays in bed...usually by the second check he's asleep. This is less stressful than just letting them scream in my opinion. It takes about a week to get them used to it, and the key is consistency...things must be routine. My oldest boy is is sensory impaired, and he has to have routine, and structure or he just can't handle it. So, when we do something new, we have to work into it. I guess that's why this worked for them. Now, I will say that both of my boys wake up in the middle of the night about 3 nights a week..and I end up waking up covered in children, lol. I don't know how to get them not to do that, because I don't usually wake up when they come in. When I do wake up, we go back to their room and start the process over again. Anyway, hope this helps! Good luck! :D

Well, I don’t know what to said, because I don’t have a child autistic, but I saw this movie about an autistic girl. The movie shows her teacher trying to redirect her I think the way she did is very realistic sometime when we have a sick child for some reason we feel bad when we are hard on then that is the reason most commonly we give in so easy like her parents in this movie. The teacher was very consistent, she never give in and maybe you can put out some good tips from that movie about how to deal with little angels with this problem like your son.
The name of the movie is: THE MIRACLE WORKER (2000) with Hallie Kate Eisenberg, and Alison Elliott.
Ps. sometimes through reading and washing movies i get a lot of encouragement or guidance, (the reason i am passing it to you)
Good luck.
Happy Holidays to you and yours. (cute movie by the way)

My 4-year old still sometimes wants me to sleep next to him. The best thing I found is to do his regular bed-time routine, put him in bed and then say "I have to do (this or that), I'll be back to check on you." I go and talk with my husband or nurse my infant daughter or have a cup of tea downstairs, then in 10 minutes time he's fast asleep. I go in, give him a kiss, and close his door. Granted it took a year and a half of varying techniques before I got to this point. Don't be discouraged, but don't let exhaustion make you do things that aren't helpling either. Best of Luck!

This challenge can be hard for anyone! I know that I faced it with my daughter when she was about that age. If he works with ABA therapists, you might want to talk to them about an intervention. Also, you can use the principles of ABA yourself to reinforce him sleeping in his own bed. What are his special interests? If its visual, you might try adding a light the reflects pretty images onto the ceiling in his room, etc. I'd be more than happy to talk with you more about specifics, if you want.

Are you married? Do you have any other children? Does this affect them too?

I do not have any autistic children. I had one that has A.D.D. I have many friends with autistic children and the one thing that I notice the most is that it is important for them to learn boundaries and consistant rules. If they don't, they just do not adjust well in life.

I think I would have many nights of him crying in bed (his own bed) and love him to death when he wakes up and praise him soooooooooooo much!! I think I would just tell him that it is time for his big boy bed. Don't take naps with him or make exceptions. If he is sick...go to his bed to comfort him.

I'm sure you don't want to see yourself trying to handle this situation when he is 8 years old. At 4, he has already developed a safe habit and it will take a lot to undo it. It will even be painful to go through (I mean a heartache). You love him so much and want him to feel safe and happy, but you also need to prepare him for the next stages in life so he can someday function somewhat normally as an adult, right?

Oh, I wish you all the luck in the world. I have 6 children and my last one is 2 years old and still is sleeping half the time in my bed. I think it is more for me. :) I love it! But, we know that she needs to go to her crib and I am going to listen to my own advice and keep doing my best to help her grow up and still feel loved. :)

Take care and have a very Merry Christmas!