It has been a long week for everyone in our house.
Both my sons are super-excited about Christmas, but my autistic son is also struggling a little bit with the changes this holiday season brings. On top of that, we are heading abroad to see family for the holiday (we have not seen most of them for about 2.5 years), so that is also adding to his excitement.
Whenever there are changes in his life, his sleep always changes. It is taking him a long time to fall asleep and on several times this week, his sleep has been disrupted as he has woken up in the middle of the night and then been awake for an hour or more. I’m tired, my husband is tired, and my son is tired.
With his tiredness comes increased clumsiness; he hurt his foot today on the trampoline, broke a glass and hit his head while jumping around in bed. His stimming (short for self-stimulatory behavior) is much more pronounced. When he is feeling overwhelmed he will tend to repeat over and over ‘I’m not ready‘. It’s heartbreaking to hear and also so draining because I’m having to reassure hi, all the time that everything is ok.
So we are trying to stick to his bedtime routine, trying to get him outside of much as possible, and making sure his diet is as healthy as it can be. We are adding in some sensory play to meet some of his sensory needs. But it hard and I worry about him getting sick from the lack of sleep. It is definitely a vicious circle but I’m hopeful that everyone gets more sleep this week. And in the mean time, if you need me, you can find me napping on the couch!
The Pajama Gang 