Aspergers son refusing to sleep

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I hate the smell of lavender. I don't know how anyone can find that relaxing. Horrible, and pungent.

It doesn't really make a differnce.

Thank you for your opinion....

Lavendar is one of my personal favorites, but opinions are like a**holes..... everyone has one and they usually stink.

In this case.... like lavendar.....

You're welcome I also dislike sandalwood.

You clearly have no grasp of chemistry or biochemistry, and you clearly don't understand the effects of administering a hormone to a child. Melatonin can cause headaches, nausea, depression, nightmares and vivid dreams, irritability, abdominal cramps and dizziness. Melatonin can also damage the reproductive system. It's worrying to think that there are people with little knowledge out there spouting nonsense, you remind me of Jenny McCarthy.


I completely agree with this statement.

I think it would be a lot easier and safer to naturally reset your sons sleeping pattern. You could try waking him up earlier than he is meant to be up, so he is sleepy when you want him to goto bed, or you can keep him awake past when he wants to goto bed. The latter however will take a week or two, because you'd have to do it in 2 - 3 hour increments and it would completely mess with your sleeping schedule. Is it really important to get your son's sleeping schedule back? Is he tired at school? or is it just more convenient for yourself?

0 equals true.... you strike me as one of those pessamistic people that is actually pleasant to be around...

I bet you like satire.....

Vitamin C may increase risk for arterial disease, but no one seems to think that eating oranges is dangerous. Flouride has been linked to arthritis, cancer, infertility and brain damage, but it is still added in line at water treatment facilities because of the "dental benefits" (I actually don't agree with adding flouride to drinking water by the way). The rate of ice cream consumption has a positive correlation with violent crime (yes, this is true and is discussed in many intro level stats courses), yet no one thinks that eating ice cream will cause them to go out and murder someone. Epidemeological studies can and do draw casual relationships between lots of things, but that doesn't always mean that action is required. Doctors are required to report all negative non-theraputic side effects for all drugs and procedures. Just because someone taking a flu medication suffers from a headache, it does not mean that the medication is the cause. It may just be that the person is sick and that many sick people have headaches. My point is that many benign things have casual associations with negative consequences. Melatonin, and every other over the counter medication and suppliment (prescription, too), have been associated with some negative side effects. The relative benefits have to be considered against the potential negative side effects. I'm sorry, but I do not agree with you that all drugs are bad. Chemistry and biochemistry aside, I think that you are suffering from some black and white thinking with respect to this issue. I do not wish to argue with you. I mearly wish to point out that while your statements are correct, your reaction is not comensurate with the facts. Lack of sleep in children has been linked to attention problems, depression, low self-esteem, poor grades and poor social relationships just to name a few. As a parent and a fellow "insomniac" I fully understand and appreciate the negative "side effects" resulting from a lack of sleep. Taking a little melatonin carries fewer negative risks than other OTC and prescription sleep aids and its benefits generally outweight any negative side effects.

By the way, I studied geomicrobiology in graduate school. I realize this is not a medical field, but biology, chemistry and statistics are the same regardless of their applications. One need not be a doctor to interpret this information, as it is generally provided to the masses to increase their understanding. This is why we are given drug information sheets with our drug purchases.

Jenny McCarthy? This woman thinks that you can cure autism. What a strange leap in logic you make..... This thread is in regards to sleeping issues and ways to cope with the inability to sleep. I do not believe that autism and insomnia are mutually exclusive. It is possible for one to have both conditions. I in no way have stated that I believe autism to be a "cureable" condition. Further, I tend to be in the camp that feels that autism is a neurological difference rather than a full blown disability. In my opinion it is most certainly a "gift" that just so happens to come with many strings attached (so to speak). What on earth made you think that I remind you of Jenny McCarthy?

I never claimed all drugs were bad and melatonin certainly isn't evil, it has it's uses. But when you are talking about using it on a child that has no illness or sleeping disorder, you merely want them to sleep four hours earlier, the negatives ALWAYS outweight the positives in cases such as these. I wouldn't be giving small amounts of dextroamphetamine to perfectly healthy children because i wanted them to function better at school.


And as such, you should avoid the vast majority of vitamin supplments unless you have an underlying medical reason.


I never expected or cared wether you replied or not. The original poster asked a question and i feel they deserve a balanced answer. It's just as important that the original poster has your posts to read as well.


Because you're advocating using a drug to treat something that is perfectly normal, kids sleeping hours change.

Melatonin is not a drug....you seem to be a confused individual.

I discussed the use of melatonin with my son's autism DR, he told me to give him more than I am currently, I cut the Dr's dosage in half. The Dr also told me it wouldn't work and that I should just give my son Benedryl. I talked to my son's regular pediatrition and we discussed the usage of melatonin and he was OK with it. It was my research tho that turned me to it as a last ditch effort to get my son the sleep he desperately needed. I don't believe that just because he only slept 6-8 hrs a night, with no naps during the day, he gave those up at 2 y/o, that he was getting the sleep he really needed. He was angry, easily frustrated and hard to work with, once he started sleeping better and longer all that changed, he became a much better individual who could cope with things alot better. Little kids will have nightmares and vivid dreams with or without the melatonin, so in all honesty I don't really count those as 'real' side effects. The other side effects are worth keeping an eye out for but since I haven't seen my son effected by random bouts of depression or headaches, it's just something filed away.


Whipstitches, I agree with your statements about Autism being a 'gift' with strings attached as opposed to it being something that needs cured. I never liked that whole term 'cured' in associatin with autism, it implys my child is sick or broken when he's in fact neither.

There are some pretty good indications that we require less sleep so keep that in mind. Pick some activates that he can do in bed, so he can unwind on his schedule. If you r child is exceptionally intelligent he may need a lot more intellectual challenges than you would expect at his age. Also if you can get him to do any strenuous exercise late in the day that can help. Make sure his activity is not anxiety related and if it is try to get to the cause. Hormones and medications can have short term benefits but with uncertain long term risk so use them judiciously, especially if the goal is just to have your child follow a more NT schedule.

bookwormde

I know what you mean about kids needing more than just 6 to 8 hours of sleep! My daughter wasn't getting very good sleep for a very long time. She has night terrors (and I didn't have to give her any melatonin for that to happen ). "They" say that they child gets rest despite the night terrors, but I don't know how restful the sleep is. She has always resisted sleeping, too. Like your child, she stopped napping at about 18 months and now only rarely takes a nap. When she does nap it is usually because she isn't feeling well or she is TOTALLY exhausted from being at playschool (I think she gets "people drain"). Long story short, between the resistance to sleeping and the night terror issues she just doesn't get a lot of sleep. I have also noticed that exercise helps. My daughter likes to jump, so we have an old crib mattress that she can jump on (it fits right under the bed when not in use ). We have also encouraged her to just take some quiet toys to bed and play until she falls asleep. Now, instead of crying she just talks herself to sleep. She does have a problem with calling on us for silly little things, but we are slowly breaking her of that. That little extra bit of exercise and the compromise of being allowed to play yourself to sleep really makes a HUGE difference. I'm glad to know I am not the only one who allows a little fun and relaxation as part of the bedtime routine. My daughter also had really bad fits and tantrums before we foun the right balance. She is so much easier to deal with when she has had something more in the 9 hour range for sleep. Small children need a lot more sleep than adults do.

I agree with bookwormde that "we" as a group need a lot less sleep, but I sort of think that we still need more when we are little.

Xinae.... I don't like the term "cured" either. I don't think that I am sick and I don't think my child is either. I think our children have so much potential and so many opportunities that just were not there when I was little. I have struggled my whole life and really believe that little things like social skills tutoring and more visual teaching techniques could have really helped me. I am so glad that we have the tools to help our children live in an NT world. Like it or not, we are not the majority and we do have to be able to get along with the people we encounter. Everyday is a struggle but it is easier to cope when you know why.

Drugs are used for medical conditions, they shouldn't be used for convenience and they should always be the last option.

I don't know how many times I have to type how it was basically a last ditch for me...but I'll go one more time

BTW, my husband and I did further research on melitonin and all your info was wrong......

Melitonin in fact has been proven to cure headaches and migraines...is an antioxidant.....infact doesn't cause infertility but is known to solve fertility issues.

So....uh...yeah....

Nothing i wrote in this article was aimed at you, as i have previously stated melatonin has it's uses. It should be one of the last things tried, with synthetic drugs clearly being a worse choice. If you had no other choice and it has worked then i am glad for you. I wouldn't judge you anyway, i'm sure you made an informed decision and it's your decision anyway.


You can read about some of the side-effects here. Note, side-effects never happen 100% of the time. Side-effects for any drug are usually extremely rare. I had issue with the fact, that it was claimed melatonin wasn't a drug and was 100% safe, neither is true. I don't care if it's 99% safe, it's still 1% unsafe. The original poster stated that her son is usually a good sleeper, nothing she has said implies that her son has a sleeping disorder. Her son shouldn't have to go through possible low-blood pressure, dizziness, headaches and cramps if he doesn't need to. If she wants to give her son melatonin then that's her decision. She should be making the decision with all the information available however.


That's the weird thing about drugs in general, the side-effects are usually the complete opposite of some of the good-effects they have. Nearly all anxiety medications have "anxiety" as a possible side-effect.

OK getcha now......


thanks for being more calmer

What works great for my son is:

Dr Bach flower remedies, 'rescue remedy sleep'. Same ingredients as original rescue remedy, but It has added white chestnut to help switch off a racing mind, and stop unwanted thoughts going on at bedtime.

Another I have heard to work great is an 'Epsom Salt' bath. Nice and relaxing before bed.

Worth trying different things, never know what will suit him. Best of luck with it xx