This post is one in a series designed to help you get out of the house and enjoy life with your child. Previously we described how to deal with anxiety and disruptive behaviors, so as to overcome these before moving on to outside excursions. Here we talk about sleep. Sleep is essential to a happy life with your child. If the family is not sleeping it is very difficult to manage anything else.
As autism parents we may find ourselves
- Lying down with a child for hours to get him to sleep,
- bringing him into our own bed,
- taking the child to another bed or room in the house,
- dealing with the problem all over again during the inevitable night-time wake-ups.
We know what it is like to struggle with sleep problems for four to eight hours. It’s exhausting, agonizing and depressing.
My family dealt with those problems for years. When I learned about TAGteach, I was able to teach my son to lie still, be quiet, and go to sleep.
I’ll be honest. This took some time. It was hard work, and I often felt depressed and resentful. But eventually, my son learned to sleep. This is a step by step process that will take some time, but if you don’t start it now, you will still not be sleeping weeks and months from now. It is worth the effort to take baby steps toward sleep and reap the rewards for years to come.
Thanks to this systematic approach, now we sleep and we are much happier.
Let’s see how to tackle the sleep problem with the always useful, effective and flexible TAGteach approach.
First things first – Consistent Routine
The following steps are always recommended for sleep problems:
- Set a consistent wake-up time early in the morning
- Set a consistent bedtime in the evening
- Limit screen time before bedtime
- Avoid large meals or snacks late in the evening.
