It's time to go to sleep now. At least this is what I keep saying to my son as he is sitting on the table, playing with his toy.
So, if you search on the web you see lots of info on sleeping patterns. Is it because of ASD, could it be ADHD? Personally, I think my genes are to blame. You see, me, my mother and others in my family are the same. We've all been pretty bad sleepers; only needing smaller amounts of sleep to keep going. Then, one day we crash out for a full 8 hours.. Yes 8 hours..
That may not sound like a lot; but when you average about 5 each night for some time; 8 is quite a bit. My son is quite similar in that. He will goto bed quite late - well, we put him to bed at around 7:30pm, he just won't go to sleep until after 10.
Last night was a particular bad night, he decided he was not going to stop crying until he was out of the room. So, he came down stairs (even though he didn't go to bed until around 8:30pm as we were out) and continued to run around and play until I put him back up again at 10:30pm. He did goto sleep quite quick after that.
He's not the only child we know that has been diagnosed with ASD that doesn't sleep. There maybe a connection there too, maybe his brain won't go silent. I know that is the reason I don't sleep until totally knackered. That said, we were told to keep a sleep diary. Its certainly enlightening as its usually within 15 minutes each night.
What we don't want to do is resort to any type of medication. Not that I don't understand when it is needed; but we want to try and figure this out without. Unless it gets too bad.
At the end of the day, kids will be kids and both our daughter and son want to try and push the boundary on the times they can stay up too. That said, she is currently under the paediatrician for possible ADHD - but that is a whole other post.
All I can think, as I write this post and as my son is sitting in the same position tonight (its 8pm). Please go to sleep tonight at a reasonable time.
Do you have similar sleep issues? Let me know in the comments below.