State: West Yorkshire
Country: United Kingdom
Member since: Mar 25, 2008
Last logged in: Dec 02, 2008
Hi everyone I am Tracy a married 36 yr old mum of two boys with Asd. My 6 year old Zak has aspergers and my 4 year old Kai, has more complex autism with alot of additional sensory needs. It can be quite challenging having two boys at opposite ends of the spectrum but our family are very supportive and especially my husband Lee, who is my rock in times of need.
Favorite Compositions (0)
Crofty's Compositions
by Crofty on 04.29.08 - public - 113 visits
Firstly, hooray we are going to see a different paeditrian shortly who will hopefully prescribe melatonin for Kai's sleep issues as we didn't get anywhere with our last one!
Secondly I am trying to now be grateful for the fact that Kai is now a very good eater to say the least!!
Ironically we used to worry ourselves sick as Kai hardly ate anything, now he is like a little Mr Universe!!!
The problem is I don't think his overeating is helping him calm down on a night, he is literally like a whirlwind straignt off his bed and around his bedroom. I wonder if the melatonin would decrease his hyperactivity aswell? Any ideas?
Comments(6)
4muskateers
Posted on Tue, 29 Apr 2008
Hi, I posted in the how your body works and healing the gut naturaly groups info on melatonin and children.
shannonj
Posted on Tue, 29 Apr 2008
Yea! Good luck with the new doctor....Sometimes certain foods can actually wind a kid up. Donna Williams, the author/speaker who is an adult with autism says that even as an adult, certain foods like dairy have a cocaine effect on her, and foods high in fenols/salicylates made her spacey and hyper.....
noaholiviaian
Posted on Mon, 28 Apr 2008
Have you tried magnesium (100-300 mgs)or epsom salt baths at night? I don't know how readily available things are in the UK. If you deal with hyperactivity throughout the day, I don't think melatonin will address that problem unless it is related to lack of sleep. I do know melatonin worked WONDERS for my son when he had trouble falling asleep. I used 1 mg each night for about 2 months. I removed it and his good sleep patterns remained. If I have to use it again, I'll see if I can get away with .5 mg. Have you armed yourself with the research showing melatonin in children is safe? I believe much, much safer than any prescription ADHD drug that you will be offered. And, HOORAY for Kai's new appetite.
cjkellie
Posted on Mon, 28 Apr 2008
maybe a bed time routine would help. I have started limiting snacks here and I think it's helped him go to bed better.. good luck
Motherof4
Posted on Mon, 28 Apr 2008
Some kids get hyper when they don't get enough sleep-- it's like they just stop being able to regulate themselves at all. So, yes, melatonin might help. Also, if anyone in the family has bipolar disorder (manic-depression) you might want to start looking into what that might mean for Kai. Some doctors do not believe children can be symptomatic for manic-depression, but all I can say is that when Daniel was little, I was afraid that his exuberance would kill me-- he used to jump at me while I was sitting and my head would snap back. I thought he'd break my neck. We didn't start the heavy duty medications until he was much older than 4, though. If you can get green vegetables into him, do. They do seem to have a calming effect.
