I have been pondering giving Brycen Melatonin supplements at night to help with his sleep. He has never been the best sleeper...but now it is making sense as to why he will wake around 2 or 3am and seem like he is ready for the day. If he does sleep "through the night," it usually doesn't last past 5-5:30am. I have messed with his bedtime and routine, activities prior to bed, decreased sugar in his diet, and shortened & lengthened nap time to try to find an easier solution to no avail. So, I wanted to research the use of Melatonin and children with Autism, but was lacking time and patience in the last few weeks to sort through all the articles on the internet. Mike has a wonderful and caring high-school classmate (Virginia) that did this for me...without even asking her! Neither Brycen nor I have even met her and it has been years since Mike has talked to her, so I am very grateful for her help with this and the interest she has taken with Brycen!
So, tonight is the first night! Right now, I only have tabs that I will need to crush and give him in pudding, so I am hoping he goes for that. If it seems like it works (may take weeks to be able to tell) I plan to order the liquid that I can add to his juice with bedtime snack. I think if we can extend his sleep during the night, not only will he be more rested and it may decrease the frequent behaviors during the day, but we will definitely be more rested and will have more patience to deal with those frequent behaviors during the day! WISH US LUCK!
http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science_news/melatonin_supplements.php
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/07/17/hscout629072.html
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=life_fam_stress
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
Saturday, July 18, 2009
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Autism and Our Family
"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
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