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.

• Write letters to the editor: Most cities and towns have local or alternative newspapers and are receptive to having their local constituents write letters about topics of their own choosing. During April, or any time throughout the year, get as many of your friends and family to write in giving basic facts about autism. At least one of them could get printed.

• Seek City/Town Council recognition: This actually takes a little bit of planning, but is still pretty easy to do. Call the city clerk’s office in March and tell them that National Autism Awareness Month is coming up in April and that you and a few other parents in the community would like the city (or town) council to draw up a proclamation detailing a few facts (which you are happy to provide) about autism.

• Have a booth at a local event: Most localities have some sort of farmer’s market or fair these days. Ask the general manager of the market about having a booth for a couple of Saturdays so that you can provide information to the general public about autism. Bring a table, a chair, and some literature to pass out to the people going by. This is also a nice way to meet others in your community who may be affected by autism in some way.

These are the most basic principles to public awareness and advocacy. It is important that the general public understand what autism is and how it relates to our children in particular. Don’t expect that stereotypes and opinions will change overnight; we know that’s not how it works, but that’s not a reason to minimize the potential your own personal public awareness campaign might have. All you have to do is touch one person, change one person’s view of autism to have made a positive impact with your awareness campaign. After all, you never know who that one person might be.

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.

How, then, can you combat these forces which at times seem overwhelming? As any parent with an autistic child well knows, there are no easy answers. While autistic children might have similar characteristics and behaviors, and respond similarly in like situations, there is no one cure-all. However, there are quite a few techniques that might be able to help.

• Some children crave the touch of a human being. It might be worth your while to take the time to give your child a massage, beginning with the legs and arms and moving on from there.

• As mentioned before, some children with autism go to sleep more easily if they take melatonin shortly before bedtime. Consider starting off with 1 mg and working your way up. Of course, consult with your child’s doctor before giving your child any new over-the-counter medications.

• Many children with autism need some sort of stimulation to help them negate unwanted outside stimuli. To this end, you might try getting a therapy ball and bouncing him or her, or try gently rocking back and forth.

• Playing soothing music (perhaps Mozart or classical guitar) softly in the background might also help your child to go to sleep and stay asleep.

As you know, there is almost never just one panacea. More than likely you will have to do two or more of these and other little tricks to get your child to sleep well and stay asleep. Also, it is very likely that none of these tips will work immediately. You might find that you need to do each, some or all of the tips given to you over the course of 10 to 14 days to start to see the effect. Make sure that you give these tips the appropriate time needed to work for you and your autistic child.