Sensory Processing Disorders in Children with Autism

Many children with autism suffer from sensory processing disorders, which mean they are extremely sensitive to various forms of sensory stimuli—such as touching, texture of food or clothing, lights and aromas—that, for most people, go unnoticed.

This is not necessarily true for many children with autism. According to the BBB Autism website, the three general kinds of sensory processing disorders are:

Tactile—based on a person’s sense of touch

Proprioceptive—based on where a person’s body is within a particular space

Vestibular—based on a person’s inner ear, and how it governs a person’s ability to interact with gravity and keep balance

For an autistic child with hyperactive sensory processing, this can lead to inappropriate social behaviors that can be very embarrassing for the parent. Additionally, this can drastically affect a child’s sleep pattern.

Most research indicates that a significant majority of children with autism have some type of sleep disorder. This can show itself in a variety of ways, such as having problems going to sleep, having problems staying asleep, or just waking up very early. For autistic children who have a hyperactive proprioceptive sensory disorder, there are a few tricks that can help the child go to sleep easier at night; one that parents are moving toward more often are weighted blankets.  Read more...

Use of Melatonin as Sleep Aid for Children with Autism

Sleep disorders in children with autism are a consistent and pervasive problem. According to most studies, approximately 80 percent of children with autism have some sort of sleep disorder. (According to the University of California at Davis MIND Institute, up to 89 percent of autistic children have a sleep disorder.) There a number of different theories on ways to ease the transition into sleep for autistic children: having a nighttime ritual, consistent bedtime, and sensory integration, among others.

One way to aid sleep that is gaining traction is the use of melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by the pineal gland (and regulated by serotonin) that governs a person’s sleep pattern. There has been some research that shows that many people with autism have a significant imbalance in their serotonin levels. When these serotonin levels are off, the body will have difficulty regulating the amount of melatonin produced by the pineal gland. This may be one reason why many children with autism have difficulties sleeping.

Recently, there was a small study (12 children) regarding the potential use of melatonin as a sleep aid published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (April 15, 2009) that showed some potential. For this small sample, children ranging from 2 to 15 years old took melatonin for two weeks and a placebo for two weeks. Overall, the study showed some promise.  Read more...

Living with Children with Sleep Disorders

You hear the floorboards creak and the not-so-soft pitter-patter of feet running down the hall. You look at the clock: 1:15 a.m. It’s your husband’s turn. Harshly, you poke him in the ribcage until he stops snoring and begins to wake up. “John, wake up, Michael’s out of his room again.” Your husband mumbles something out of the side of his mouth, rolls over, and slowly sits up. Rubbing his eyes, he blearily gets out of bed to recover your child and get him back into bed.

You close your eyes for what seems like only a minute. Again, you wake up to the tromping of your son’s feet echoing down the halls. It’s your turn this time. You roll over and look at the clock: 3:38 a.m. You force yourself out of bed and go to retrieve your son; frustrated over your lack of sleep, you place your son back into bed. It’s 5:17 a.m. and this time your child is up for good. Less than six hours of sleep…again.  Read more...