In the Search For Sleep

We chase sleep this kid and I. One of us loves it. The other one not so much. Although he never misses an afternoon nap with his seven blankets and train magazines. I call him a 90-year-old man every afternoon. But the nighttime sleep, he doesn’t love it so much. He goes to bed great…always has. But his preferred time to wake up is 3 am. He comes in my room, touches my shoulder to let me know he’s awake and then he wanders downstairs. I can hear him, my…

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What We Won’t Do For Our Kids

When I have kids they will never… Remember those thoughts? From before you had children of your own? I had them for sure. My two favorites were…I will never have dirty car seats because my babies will never eat in my car. And my kids will never have snotty noses. Of course I didn’t have one kid, let alone three at that time. I laugh at that now as I hand food back to a screaming child and clean goldfish pieces from my floor mats. And as I use my…

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10 Truths I Know About My Son’s Autism and Sleep

The number one question I am most commonly asked is…does your autistic son sleep? And if he does, give us your secrets. The questions pour into my inbox during all hours of the night. I’ll look at the time stamp and see 3 and 4 am. I’ll read the words of desperate parents wondering if they are going to survive the sleep deprivation. The answer is yes. He sleeps now. But he didn’t for nearly six years. And, most importantly, I understand. Sleep deprivation or irregular sleep is really hard.…

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Autism and Sleep Struggles

The number one question I am most commonly asked is…does your son with autism sleep? And if he does, give us your secrets. The answer is yes. He sleeps now. But he didn’t for nearly six years. Cooper did not sleep through the night until he was 4.5 years old. As a newborn he slept 6-8 hours in a 24 hour period and never slept longer than a 45 minute period. The sleep deprivation was torture. Around age 4.5 Cooper started sleeping but woke up before 4 am for a…

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