Sleep and Cameras

Jane

Hi all

My 28 year old daughter, with SLD, non verbal, DS & ASD is now sleeping in the wee small hours, between 3 and 5 am, we then wake her at 9, but her days are not good.  We are considering fitting cameras as we interrupt her routines she has to start all over again - making the situation worse.

She has taken to sleeping on hall floor and last night she wouldn't go upstairs and slept on the sofa.

We have tried Zopicione 7.5 mg for 2 weeks but it made no differecnce as  she fought it.

Any ideas, experience please  Janine

Geoark

Hello @Jane and welcome to the community.

How long has this been going on? You mentioned trying Zopicione two week ago, which is when the weather started to improve. Moving to the hall would be cooler, and I know in our home the bedrooms upstairs tend to be hotter than the rooms downstairs. Last week would have been particularly bad for this.

If you are opening a window to help keep the temperature down this can attract a number of insects to come into the room which could be bothering your daughter, or just general back ground noise or smells that could be disrupting her.

With big changes in behaviour like this it can be useful to keep a diary and noting anything that is different, not just weather, disruption in normal routines prior to the change, changes in food, detergents, new clothes, bedding etc. It is also worth checking what she is trying to avoid, ie how old is the mattress, does the bed squeek when you move on it etc.

If the change has been in line with the weather changing I would use that as a starting point. Lighter nightwear and bedding. Where is the sun in respect to the bedroom in the afternoon? If it is shining directly on your daughter's bedroom window, keep the window shut and if required invest in good quality curtains that block the light out from the bedroom, keep the light off and try not to have anything electrical in the bedroom. 

It is all about being a detective and finding ways to alleviate what is ever causing the problem.

Sorry cannot comment on the cameras as not sure what you are aiming to achieve with them. I would suggest if possible perhaps letting her sleep on longer if it is not disrupting everyone else, especially in hot weather. Even if the change in heat is not the main cause it will certainly be exasperating things for her.

Chloe_Alumni

Hi @Jane and a very warm welcome to the community! 

I understand how difficult this must be. Is she under an Occupational Therapist at all? They may be able to suggest ways which could help her sleep.

Thank you @Geoark for some great advice

April2018mom

Does she have a OT or not? If so I would talk to them and see what suggestions they have. Not sure about the cameras however. @Geoark has some useful advice and suggestions worth trying. What medications have been tried already? It may also be a good time to see if a change in medication will help things. 

Sam_Alumni

Hi @jane
We have some information about sleep here that might help. 

We also run sleep services that support families of children with additional needs, aged between 2 and 19, who have severe sleep problems. These services provide workshops, clinic appointments, home visits where appropriate, as well as support by telephone and email.