Early Rising

[Lyndalou]

I know that this is a problem that affects a lot of children, not just children with ASD's but does anyone have any tips about how to combat early rising. My little boy (3) is generally good to settle after his bath for sleep but can wake a few times in the night talking and singing though he stays in bed. Recently, he has had some night terrors too but settles again with some reassurance. However, it seems to coincide with the dawn chorus that he wakes up very early, eventually getting up for good at between 5.15 to 5.30 for the last 2 and a half months.

 

Last year when this happened we ensured there was no light at all coming into the room and closed the vents on the (doubleglazed) windows. This extended his sleep time by about half an hour initially and then eventually he started sleeping longer, until about 7am. The early rising started again this year when I was still getting up for night feeds with the baby. This meant for a few weeks, I was effectively up from 4am. Then, ironically,(and thankfully)the baby started sleeping through and the early rising with my son continues and I spend the time from when he first gets up trying to curb the shouting and singing and running about that could wake her.

 

I have tried cajoling him and explaining that it is dark so it means that it is night time (obviously it is getting lighter now)and getting him to listen and recognise that it is quiet so everyone is still sleeping (by this time the birds have normally stopped). This is because I have no doubt he has good comprehension on many things. I have tried telling him it is time to stay in bed, just because mummy says so and that I will come to get him when it is time to get up. Normally I am not back to my room before I hear him switching on the light. I have tried saying to him he can look at books quietly but keeping the light on just means he comes straight out of his room. He has no TV or other gadgets in his room.

 

Mostly I now just try to keep him quiet(ish) in his room until as close to 6 as possible when I bring him downstairs and can put on CBeebies or Milkshake to keep him occupied and make his breakfast.

 

I have been looking into getting acoustical foam to 'plug up' the window to muffle the noise of the birds in the trees but don't know if this will be any use and if it poses a fire hazard (there is nothing in the room though which could start a fire) and have got a support worker coming soon from the family health team to talk through possible causes of and prevention of the early rising. There are instances when he is wet upon waking or he must wee and leak once he wakes up but this is probably only 1 out of 3 or 4 mornings (he does not get a drink before bed because he was soaked through every morning for a while last year).

 

The thing is, it's starting to seriously wind me up and upset me. I do the 'morning shift' and my husband mostly does the 'evening shift' so I very seldom get a sleep in as it's not my husband's 'duty' in the morning. I am well aware that I need sleep to regulate my own anxiety levels so I am trying to get to bed earlier but because I am a very light sleeper myself I can be disturbed by my husband coming to bed and will be the one who gets up in the night if the kids cry out. I have had next to no 'time out' for 5 months which is something that I have recognised for a long time that I need to take stock and refuel. (I asked hubby yesterday if I could do the work that needed done in the garden to get time ON MY OWN but he still expected me to be keeping an eye on my son as he danced all over what I was doing. Hubby said 'So do you want me to look after him or her?' because it obviously hadn't occured to him what ON MY OWN meant. Answers on a postcard please!) I also remember back to when I was a kid - with no doubleglazing and paper thin curtains I was routinely woken by the gulls and crows and the light streaming in - and my mum would never have put up with me getting up and making a noise so early and I knew it! So, I can't help thinking that probably my son knows it too and is just disregarding it. It does ###### me off too that I am the one who has to try to find a way to deal with this problem!

 

Any suggestions??

[RainbowsButterflies]

We have one of these clocks which really helps Beth to understand when she is allowed to get up http://www.gro.co.uk/Gro-clock.html.

[GaryS]

I have a similar problem with my boys, particularly the younger. It's fairly well understood that Autism causes imbalances in a variety of the neurologically active chemicals some some of these have direct and indirect effects on sleep patterns. I read that not only does the brain have an imbalance to the sleep related hormone melatonin but there may be a reduced effectiveness also; I think most are aware of the use of this to aid sleep inducement but there may also be a case for medicating to prolong sleep also so I'd certainly consider speaking to your GP about this Further info. The interesting thing is that although melatonin has a relatively short half-life, some reports of only being active for about 30 mins, there seems to be a "kick-start" effect in some people, other reports have found structural differences in the melatonin produced by individuals with ASC (?further evidence of generalised methyltransferase problems in autism).

 

I'm more fortunate now as my youngest is old enough to entertain himself when he wakes early

[Tally]

You can get slow-release melatonin, but this would mean taking a tablet whole which some people find hard. However, if he does seem to be getting enough sleep and isn't tired, this is probably not the solution.

 

If it's to do with the summer and lighter mornings, a black-out blind or heavy curtain might help him stay asleep a little longer.

 

If he can tell the time, a clock might be the answer. If not, a clock like the one RainbowsButterflies suggested could be better. I have also seen some with a smiley face on, and you can set the eyes to open and close at a certain time to show that it is not time to get up yet.

 

Maybe a game he can play quietly by himself might keep him in his bedroom better than books. Or if he is hungry or thirsty then a little snack might help.

[Lyndalou]

Thanks for those helpful suggestions. I'm pretty certain he needs more sleep because if I can't get him to go down for a nap then he becomes increasingly aggressive throughout the day and especially towards the end of the week. If he does go down for a nap it can be very difficult to persuade him to get up again which then impinges on the evening routine!

 

I have considered the simple idea of just thicker curtains - I got thin ones because I thought with a blackout blind underneath that would be enough but because recently I have been using a travel blackout blind as the fixings on the normal one gave way, there is a bit of light is coming in. Thicker curtains definitely would muffle sounds a bit too.

 

I also like the look of the GroClock RB. We have a similar one but I think it is too 'grownup' or not simple enough - it has a picture of a bunny sleeping and then going to school on it - but I like the star/sun images better and my little boy's favourite bedtime stories have the moon and stars as their themes so he already equates those images with sleep...

 

The melatonin information looks interesting Gary. I think I will have to read into that further and could mention it to the family support worker. If my lad is similar to me then his brain probably works overtime... I doubt he could be persuaded to swallow a tablet though so is there possibly another way to administer it? I am well aware that becoming overtired through the day too can impact on night-time sleep so it's hard to know if the erratic nature of his naps - none/too much/too little - is making things worse.

 

Ideally, I would want him to sleep on and not be awake and playing. When he was much younger he would quietly get up and 'read' to himself - it was magic! - but books have lost their appeal as he has become more active so I have wondered Tally about some kind of magnetic board on the wall to put picture magnets/cogs etc on that would maybe keep him quietly occupied. He really is a law unto himself though so I anticipate that he'd have his own ideas!

 

Thanks all again x