We recently heard from a family who got in touch to tell us how our Sleep Advice Service was able to give them expert advice on dealing with their daughter’s sleep problems which were affecting the whole family.
Their eight year old daughter is a high energy girl who loves to perform and sing and dance to entertain her family and loves her tabby cat and giving nicknames to cats she encounters on her walks. Because of her Autism and ADHD she finds day-to-day life a bit tricky and her sleep issues were having an impact on the whole family.
“We didn’t have a diagnosis for her when we asked for help. Our daughter hasn’t slept well since birth, and we have to sit with her every night for over an hour to settle her into sleep. She wakes during most nights from vivid dreams and needs reassurance from us to get her back to sleep which can often take up to an hour.
This broken sleep pattern over several years has led to both of us, as her parents, being exhausted. She struggles with friendships and dysregulates at school. Our daughter has been misjudged by other children in her peer group and their parents and has historic friendship struggles which persist today. She struggles to maintain friends and has low self-esteem. Her older siblings also experience Autism/ADHD related challenges and are currently being diagnosed. The combination of three siblings with Autism and ADHD related difficulties means that our home life is often tricky, and we have only recently started to understand the connections to neuro diversity.
What led you to Cerebra’s Sleep Service?
We tried several organisations and asked for help including CAMHS, the local hospital children’s sleep clinic, the Sleep Charity, some Autism charities and Cerebra. Timely support was critical as we were slipping towards a crisis point after years of broken sleep, reduced evenings together and limited downtime. Only Cerebra offered to help in a timely and meaningful way. For various reasons, other charities were unable to offer any support which was disappointing and felt like we were hitting brick walls down every pathway.
How did our Sleep Service help?
We had a series of regular calls with a Cerebra Sleep Practitioner, Carwyn, who offered a friendly ear and sleep advice. We had already brought up two children and knew how to establish good getting to sleep routines. Carwyn was sympathetic to our suspected Autism/ADHD diagnoses and reaffirmed our thinking that our child’s experiences were likely to be related to these conditions.
We struggled to get help and advice on sleep in relation to neurodiversity until we spoke to Cerebra. We could not find any other support at that time. Carwyn shared some documents with us and offered some new techniques which we tried. Carwyn was extremely sympathetic to our situation which was of significant value. Carwyn was supportive of our challenges with our daughter’s school and wrote them a letter explaining her sleep issues and the connection to daytime experiences and anxieties.
What difference has our help made?
Firstly, it was a big help having someone listen to us and reaffirm our suspicions of neuro diversity linked to sleep deprivation. Speaking to someone with experience of sleep issues and neuro diversity combined was of significant value. Some of the sleep strategies helped in the short term but more than anything it was helpful having access to an expert.
