Guest guest Posted July 27, 2006 Report Share Posted July 27, 2006 Although my son (5), who has TS with OCD issues that wax and wane as well as ADHD, always used to fight sleep and have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep as a younger child. Last summer, a bit before he turned five, I did major research and a sleep overhaul for the kids. Once I got a good routine and bedtime (who knew that 6:30 p.m. would work so much better than 9:30?), sleep problems have been rare. In the past 2 weeks, though, he's been having a really hard falling asleep. At first he was mostly insisting that he wasn't tired and needed to get up and play, but he didn't protest the bedtime routine, just jumped up after lying down for a bit. Some nights he demands to get out of the room. I have insisted that he stay in bed because that's our rule (once in bed for the night, no getting up except to pee--though I'll come to them if there's an issue), and I've usually found it worth holding to through times of insistance on change. Tonight he was definitely tired and admitted it, but said he couldn't fall asleep because he just didn't " feel right " . That reminded me that another night or two he's gotten very upset and said that his body is all " wrinkly " or some not quite sensical word like that. He sometimes asks me to do things that might help him sleep, but they are things we would sometimes do before the sleep issues. The behavior isn't " screaming " OCD to me, but I was wondering if there could be some sort of anxiety he hasn't verbalized? Anyone have this experience of good sleep habits suddenly gone bad? Sherri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 This is a shot in the dark, but has your son ever been diagnosed with sensory issues? The reason I ask this is..My son has sensory prosessing d/o. when he gets agitated about something in life it flares up. He used the " wrinkly " description one time and come to find out it was a new soap that I had in the tub that he decided to use, but didn't like the feeling of. He was not aware of what it was he didn't like.. but knew there was something wrong. This also hit at a time of stress over a change in routine for him. I know this doesn't help the root of the problem of his sleep problem, but maybe it would be one less " discomfort " for his system to have to deal with. Good luck! Blessed Be monica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 My son (7) has had sleep problems on and off. They come as quickly as they go. Sleep problems are an indicator of increasing anxiety. This is what we did... Established a nighttime routine Allow him to have his light on and read as long as he stays in bed. Then we gradually shorten the amount of time that he has the light on each night. Established a reward system for staying in his own bed (7 stars = toy or privelage). Whenever he begins to have trouble again we hone up our strategy. It is important to include him in on the goal setting and the rewards so that he will be motivated. Best wishes for a good night's sleep, Bonnie > > > Although my son (5), who has TS with OCD issues that wax and wane as > well as ADHD, always used to fight sleep and have trouble getting to > sleep or staying asleep as a younger child. Last summer, a bit before > he turned five, I did major research and a sleep overhaul for the > kids. Once I got a good routine and bedtime (who knew that 6:30 p.m. > would work so much better than 9:30?), sleep problems have been rare. > > In the past 2 weeks, though, he's been having a really hard falling > asleep. At first he was mostly insisting that he wasn't tired and > needed to get up and play, but he didn't protest the bedtime routine, > just jumped up after lying down for a bit. Some nights he demands to > get out of the room. I have insisted that he stay in bed because > that's our rule (once in bed for the night, no getting up except to > pee--though I'll come to them if there's an issue), and I've usually > found it worth holding to through times of insistance on change. > Tonight he was definitely tired and admitted it, but said he couldn't > fall asleep because he just didn't " feel right " . That reminded me > that another night or two he's gotten very upset and said that his > body is all " wrinkly " or some not quite sensical word like that. He > sometimes asks me to do things that might help him sleep, but they > are things we would sometimes do before the sleep issues. The > behavior isn't " screaming " OCD to me, but I was wondering if there > could be some sort of anxiety he hasn't verbalized? > > Anyone have this experience of good sleep habits suddenly gone bad? > > Sherri > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 I have no strategy, since my son (7) has slept with us since he came home as a baby. And with the current situation, we don't see him moving out of the family bed anytime soon. He is an only child, and will be, and does not want to sleep alone, hey who does?. He still wakes up sometimes. We are getting a puppy soon, so we are hoping one day that he would move in with the dog. He gets so scared at night before falling asleep. We leave the tv on with a " safe " movie. Currently, it is " Eloise " . We've had that one on every night before bed for about 3 months. We do switch it with " Eloise at Christmastime " . For some reason, those are fine for him to sleep to. Not exciting to make him stay awake, but distracting enough for the bad thoughts to stay away. Not a great habit I know, but better than him lying there listening to sounds. I've always slept with it on, so it was probably inevitable, OCD or not that he would prefer the tv on. How about some music, if the tv or a movie is not for your family? We talked with his therapist about it and she thought it was fine. Maybe for " normal " kids (she even said quote-unquote normal), you wouldn't reccomend falling asleep with the tv on, but you do what works and it is probably better than trying a medication for sleep at this point. OH, gotta run, bad thoughts are rampant today. I hear the start of one. Long night ahead. I think I posted last week that things were much better? Well, two steps forward, one step back. Re: New sleep issues My son (7) has had sleep problems on and off. They come as quickly as they go. Sleep problems are an indicator of increasing anxiety. This is what we did... Established a nighttime routine Allow him to have his light on and read as long as he stays in bed. Then we gradually shorten the amount of time that he has the light on each night. Established a reward system for staying in his own bed (7 stars = toy or privelage). Whenever he begins to have trouble again we hone up our strategy. It is important to include him in on the goal setting and the rewards so that he will be motivated. Best wishes for a good night's sleep, Bonnie > > > Although my son (5), who has TS with OCD issues that wax and wane as > well as ADHD, always used to fight sleep and have trouble getting to > sleep or staying asleep as a younger child. Last summer, a bit before > he turned five, I did major research and a sleep overhaul for the > kids. Once I got a good routine and bedtime (who knew that 6:30 p.m. > would work so much better than 9:30?), sleep problems have been rare. > > In the past 2 weeks, though, he's been having a really hard falling > asleep. At first he was mostly insisting that he wasn't tired and > needed to get up and play, but he didn't protest the bedtime routine, > just jumped up after lying down for a bit. Some nights he demands to > get out of the room. I have insisted that he stay in bed because > that's our rule (once in bed for the night, no getting up except to > pee--though I'll come to them if there's an issue), and I've usually > found it worth holding to through times of insistance on change. > Tonight he was definitely tired and admitted it, but said he couldn't > fall asleep because he just didn't " feel right " . That reminded me > that another night or two he's gotten very upset and said that his > body is all " wrinkly " or some not quite sensical word like that. He > sometimes asks me to do things that might help him sleep, but they > are things we would sometimes do before the sleep issues. The > behavior isn't " screaming " OCD to me, but I was wondering if there > could be some sort of anxiety he hasn't verbalized? > > Anyone have this experience of good sleep habits suddenly gone bad? > > Sherri > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2006 Report Share Posted July 28, 2006 He does have sensory issues--mostly hyposensitivity/seeking tactile and proprioceptive input (which I know could be a factor in him crashing into people, I know, but I also know it isn't just that). It seems that when there are problems, there are problems with every issue at once and it's hard to figure out what's going on. Sherri > > This is a shot in the dark, but has your son ever been diagnosed with > sensory issues? > > The reason I ask this is..My son has sensory prosessing d/o. when he gets > agitated about something in life it flares up. He used the " wrinkly " > description one time and come to find out it was a new soap that I had in > the tub that he decided to use, but didn't like the feeling of. He was not > aware of what it was he didn't like.. but knew there was something wrong. > This also hit at a time of stress over a change in routine for him. > > I know this doesn't help the root of the problem of his sleep problem, but > maybe it would be one less " discomfort " for his system to have to deal with. > Good luck! > > Blessed Be > > monica > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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