Ask a Sleep Practitioner

SleepPractitioners

Hi everyone, we are senior Sleep Practitioners for Scope, here on the online community for one week to help answer all your questions about sleep. Does your child have problems with settling, night wakings, early waking? Any sleep problems please just ask!
Please remember we do have to manage services but will come on here to answer questions each day (it just might be in the evening after work!).
Em and Max x

Jordz200

Hello I'm an adult suffering with spastic diaplega and I find it really difficult to call asleep when I do eventually drift off find it difficult to wake again and become quite stiff regardless of my range of movements any advice would be of great help thanks x

Kirevie

Hi. I have a 6 yr old daughter who has Down's syndrome and sensory processing disorder. She gets up, up to 50 times a night. She has mild sleep apnoea. We use essential oils, massage, deep compression, have a strict bedtime routine, have had "help" from CAMHS. We now have a sensory diet to try and assist her with her sensory and sleep issues. It was working but it feels like we're back to square one and nothing has changed in her routine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We don't want to medicate. That really would be our last resort.
Her lack of sleep affects her behaviour and learning.
Many thanks x

sjharding

Hi my so ln will be two next month he has tuberous sclerosis global development delays sezuires visual problems autisum behaviour problems and heart problems aswell as more. he is a very active but he wont stay asleep at night weve tried melatonin but it made him have really bad mood swings and kash out at me so ive stopped this now but unsure on what to do to help him get a good nights sleep

Bea1983

I have a 4 year old boy who settles really well and has a structured bedtime but wakes up crying every evening an hour after falling asleep? It takes me 45-60 minutes to resettle him and the he climbs into our bed at 4am? How can I keep him sleeping through the nightin his own bed? Xx

SallyRome

My son (xq microdeletion ) takes valpoic acid to help with unusual brain activity which causes agitated -- near catatonic behaviour. A year or so ago we tried withdrawing the medication on advice of a neurologist - after initial few months his behaviour became uncontrolable and now he has been taking a higher than before dose (Val. acid) for several months (with good effect). When he didn't take medication he found going to sleep difficult and was extremely tense, rigid to the point he couldnt sleep. At other times he "closed down" , staying motionless also when standing, sometimes sleeping for the whole day. Although he is now much happier and settled these patterns still occur and I really don't understand how he can be so tense, rigid, still. He also wakes up suddenly, sometimes jumping up. Any comments welcome, thank you in advance He is 11, and becoming an adolescent by the way

SleepPractitioners

Hi @SallyRome,
How long after falling asleep is he waking up jerking?
Em x