Beginning Autism Awareness
At least three out of every 1,000 children are born with autism; and yet there is not a great deal known about these autistic children by society at large beyond the continued portrayal of our children as being alternately idiot-savants (like Raymond in the movie Rain Man) or verbally incoherent, barely being able to make animal-like grunts. Parents with autistic children know that both of these classic stereotypes are very far from the truth.
Sadly, these stereotypes often hamper the treatment and care that children with autism receive in the community. Therefore, it is important that the general public be educated about autism or else negative connotations and Hollywood-constructed archetypes will continue to be the norm, not the exception.
As such, tired and exhausted though you may be from the day-to-day grind of raising your autistic child, it is still important that we all act to make sure that people understand our children in order for them to have better lives.
Most people are not ready to run a year-round, sophisticated, public relations campaign in order to make our town and city peers aware of what we face every day. However, Congress set aside April as Autism Awareness Month. Therefore, as you seek to increase the quality of life for you and your child, there are some specific steps that you can take to help raise awareness one month per year.
Quick Tips to Get Your Autistic Child Asleep
Most studies indicate that between 40 to 80% of children with autism have sleep disorders. This means that an autistic child might have problems falling asleep, waking too early, or wake periodically in the middle of the night. As a parent, you are aware of these issues as well as the fact that no one really knows why autistic children have trouble sleeping.
What researchers know is that it can seriously hamper your child’s health…as well as your own. On average, a 3- to 6-year-old child needs approximately 10 to 12 hours of sleep per night. Many children with autism do not get the requisite hours of sleep, whether it’s due to an inability to read social cues (such as their siblings getting ready for bed); or may it’s because children with autism have a different internal clock.
Perhaps it has to do with a deficiency in melatonin production within the body due to low serotonin levels—there are currently a number of studies researching how melatonin affects the sleep patterns of children with autism. To date, the studies are encouraging but hardly all encompassing. Other reasons for an inability to fall asleep (or stay asleep) may relate to an autistic child’s sensitivity to outside stimuli or even a child’s reaction to that stimuli resulting in anxiety.
