SLEEP
Remember whatever you CHOSE will become a habit.
So if you lay down with them, expect to every night.
If they are crying, let them. Stand on other side of
door and every five minutes go in: here’s the crucial part, do not engage in talking or getting upset. Stick with my three C’s - stay cool, calm, and
collected. Repeat your bedtime phrases and tell
them they are okay. I like saying ‘I love you,’ ‘Time to
sleep’ and ‘It’s bedtime, goodnight.’ Leave the room.
This will get better the more consistent you are.
Children will feed off your stress, so staying calm
is essential. The calmer you are shows your young
one that you are in control. When you are in control they will feel safe. When they feel safe, they will
sleep. It doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful.
The work and effort you put in now will pay off later
in your child’s life. I know — I lived it.
Remember that you as the parent are responsible
for setting up a good system of structured living.
Sleeping and eating routines are the most important part of being healthy happy, and successful.
I guarantee that if you as the parent remain firm and loving, you will establish a pattern of control that will ripple
out into other areas of your relationship with your child.
Different Roads
Tools for kids on the spectrum since 1995.
(800) 853-1057 • www.difflearn.com
Kim Faiman is a single mother of twin boys —
one with autism, one typical. She is a third degree
black belt and taught young ones martial arts for
10 years. Her sons are her testimony to what she
knows works for children. Kim’s sons just turned 18
years old and both are exemplary students and human beings — she is very proud.