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Does anyone have any great ideas on helping a 4 year old sleep through the night? He was recently diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. We have seen multiple doctors and specialists about his sleep problems and so far we have been told we need to stick to a routine. We have always had routines in place so that doesn't help. He goes right to sleep at night but then wakes up 3-5 hours later and can be awake for 2+ hours. He just lays in bed but we have to be with him when he wakes up for safety reasons. Sometimes he has nightmares but not often. Any ideas? Thanks!!
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I third the weighted blanket. Also consider (if he's a sensory seeker) something that he could chew on or touch. Consider a taggie (small blanket with multiple ribbon tags on it with different sensory feels).
Do you need to be with him, or just monitoring him? If the latter, consider a camera in his room so you can see that he's ok, but are not interacting with him.
Thanks everyone!! We use a weighted blanket but I'm wondering if it needs to be heavier, we have been using dim lights and smells, and a cd we have used forever but it may be time to switch those up too, they are so routine I forgot to consider them. Giving him something to chew is brilliant. Thank you thank you!!
I also vote for the weighted blanket!! Did wonders for my son; he would not sleep in his bed before he got one. He would crawl down to the floor and sleep!! Last Christmas I found in Kmart these little pillows that vibrated. I bought a frog one and my son loves it!! They also had a vibrating chair back. He is not too impressed with that one. I think I got them for like $8. Have you tried doing some sensory activities right before bed? Nothing too overwhelming, but enough to give the sensory input needed before you do a regular bedtime routine?
My understanding is that a weighted blanket is supposed to be about 10% of the person's body weight.
I rock with DD before she goes to bed. That also seems to help her with her sensory needs and is a good transition between awake and asleep. I hug her tight while rocking. I've also heard that swaddling them (the big kid version of wrapping them tightly in a blanket) while rocking helps as well.
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Thanks Shy_Bear. I'll look for a vibrating pillow. He gets overstimulated really easily and struggles to settle down but I think I will try some sensory stuff right before our bedtime routine tonight. Thanks!As far as the weighted blanket goes, I have the standard 10% of his weight, can I safely go heavier than that? We just started with an OT but she's out of town for a couple of weeks so I can't ask her for awhile. Thanks for everyone's help I will try these things tonight and see how it goes. Have a great day!
I have a hard problem with naptime. My little guy just wiggles and squirms, keeps himself awake.I just started playing Pandora's Lullabye station on my phone or ipad :) We both love it, and he is alot quieter and wiggles less. He usually falls asleep within 15 minutes. I still have to cuddle with him and hold his hands to keep him still enough.
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Any chance that your ds is constipated or has any GI sensitivities? My SPD dd woke up every night for 2+ hours until we treated her constipation (and then "cured" it by removing gluten from her diet). Her tummy was waking her up at night but didn't hurt enough to bother her during the day. Lots of SPD kiddos have GI issues, so I thought I'd check. Susan
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Parenting, we will definitely try the time released melatonin. Is there a brand that you like? His doctor has approved melatonin for him so the time released is a brilliant option.Suzeb1 that is an interesting thought, he doesn't seem to have any GI issues but he did when he was younger. I'll have to look into that some more, it is a possibility I hadnt considered. Does the gluten free help your little one overall with spd issues or just sleep?Thanks everyone for your help we've tried alot of the suggestions and they have all been helpful. He slept a little better the last 2 nights so hopefully we are getting there.
I'm so glad to hear he's been sleeping a bit better :) For dd, being gluten and dairy free has been a life changer. We went dairy (casein) free first and her tantrums virtually disappeared. She was more able to handle noise and stimulating environments. We went gluten free two years later and her very high need for movement went away. We are almost at the one year mark for GF and she has continued to make progress throughout the year. It's a lot of work, but definitely worth looking into. all the best, Susan