Asperger's, teeth anxiety and insomnia!

[sueeltringham]

OK, I'm new here and wondered if anyone else had similar problems and how they have solved it.

My son, 6 is an Aspie and is paranoid about his teeth to the point where we can't look at his mouth or go anywhere near his face (yep, we've got some desensitization work to do!). He's lost several teeth which was pretty traumatic (at the time) and now he has one top and one bottom one really wobbly. He refuses to lay down in bed as he says he doesn't want the teeth to fall out. He refuses to sleep in case they fall out and we now have one huge problem with anxiety, lack of sleep, refusing to eat, in a huge downward spiral. The only thing that seems to be working is holding him really tight until he's calmed down, but some nights he's not sleeping until the early hours and we're getting worn down by this, understandably. One of the key things is he wants to know exactly WHEN they will fall out and in desperation the other night I told him in five days time. Now he thinks they are going to fall out on Thursday -not sure how we'll handle that one. Just wondered if anyone has been through similar and how they've dealt with it. Cheers,

 

Sue

[Mumble]

I always used to worry as a child that I might swallow my teeth. It might be worth making sure he understands the mechanics of why teeth fall out so he knows he'll definately get new ones and that what is happening is normal. Also if he believes in the tooth fairy could be worth explaining that the tooth fairy can still pay for teeth that are missing so it doesn't matter if it falls out when he's sleeping.

 

On the coming close to his face thing - could be a lot more than anything to do with teeth. Faces, the way I used to see them, were totally terrifying because they were blurry/missing/distorted.

 

And he seems to need deep pressure - you could read Temple Grandin on this. You might find that a weighted blanket has a similar effect and calms him down enough to help him sleep.

[Karen A]

Hi Sue.Welcome to the Forum.I have Ben who is 9.He has DCD and Social Communication Difficulties [AS features ].Ben also worries about his teeth being loose and regularly asks me to arrange a check up at the dentist.He was also reluctant to eat.I do not have any answers to the problem...but can only hope the teeth come out today.If your DS is anything like Ben then you may be in trouble if what you said would happen does not come about. <'> Karen.

[sueeltringham]

Thanks Mumble. We read Temple Grandin with great interest a while ago and reasoned that Joe liked pressure as he seeks hugs and adult contact when anxious, also squeezes himself into a ball -we tuck him up tightly into bed and he sleeps between the wall and a pillow -usually.

 

I know the teeth issue is very complex as sometimes he avoids eye contact, sometimes he's good with eye contact. We've never been able to touch inside his mouth and brushing teeth has always been a nightmare. I've spoken to Joe's teaching assistant this morning and she's writing him a social story about teeth. He's lost a few already and the tooth fairy has visited us. However, I think there are a couple of events that have increased his anxiety -one was seeing a friend in school being pushed and knocked into a wooden table resulting in loss of consciousness, blood and teeth knocked out. The other event was when his last tooth came out and was lost (we think either Joe or the cat ate it!). Although he's very calm in the daytime about losing teeth and getting new ones (understands it all), the problems surface at night and there is no reasoning with him.

 

The current problem seems to be that Joe's decided he's not going to lay down (to sleep) as his teeth might fall out, consequently he's trying to sleep sitting up! Last night I eventually persuaded him to lay down and tucked him in tightly and held him, until he was more relaxed. I feel a lot better today -more positive! I know some of you parents struggle every night getting them to sleep, but Joe has always been so good about sleeping and going to bed (as long as we get his routine right). This all came as a bit of a shock, especially seeing him so anxious and wet with sweat and shaking night after night until the early hours. Thanks,

 

Sue

[sueeltringham]

Yay!!! One tooth has fallen out at tea time. Lots of blood, but one very happy son who's gone to bed happily. So, it must have been the worry of the tooth actually falling out! Oh, and happy parents too!

 

sue

[Kathryn]

Hi Sue (and welcome, by the way)

 

What a relief for you all!

 

I hope the tooth fairy makes all the stress worthwhile.

 

K x