Perhaps the most important thing you can
do to help your child cope with insomnia
is to work with them on finding effective
coping strategies. Often sensory sensitivities and anxiety can worsen the symptoms
of autistic insomnia. Looking at a child’s
sleep environment and bedtime routine
from the perspective of lessening sensory
triggers and providing enough time for
enjoyable sensory integration activities
is a great place to start. But remember,
the approach that works for each child is
different, and it’s unlikely that their sleep
difficulties will disappear entirely. There’s
just something about the autistic brain
that makes sleep harder for us. However,
we can develop a set of coping strategies
that minimizes the severity of our insomnia and the stress associated with it.
Cynthia Kim blogs at Musings of
an Aspie and is the author of two
books: Nerdy, Shy and Socially
Inappropriate: A User Guide to an
Asperger Life and I Think I Might
Be Autistic.
Photos courtesy of Pixabay
Zoom Autism Through Many Lenses
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