Is your child struggling to sleep? The answer to this is likely to be different for every person. Unfortunately, it seems that virtually all children with autism are likely to suffer from disturbed sleep patterns at some point or another, but we don’t know why. Sleep problems can be divided into: settling problems, where a child has difficulty going to sleep waking problems, where a child wakes repeatedly during the night ‘social cueing’ problems, where your child doesn’t make the connection between the family going to bed and their own need to sleep melatonin issues sensory issues problems caused by allergy and food sensitivities hypersomnia - sleeping too much Why? Did You Know? 40-80% of children with Autism suffer from sleep deprivation Contact SENDiass Rochdale for info on sleep clinics running in 2016 Things to try Use a weighted blanket Relaxation techniques Block out light, smells, noises Gradual reduction of adult presence Restrict daytime naps