Various avenues to assist autistic children in managing their lifestyles has come forward. A new tootkit by professionals at Vanderbilt University aims to help kids suffering from autism organize their sleeping schedules and experience peaceful sleep at night.
This toolkit dubbed ‘Sleep Strategies for Children with Autism: A Parent’s Guide’ provides guardians of autistic children with strategies to enable their kids fall asleep and continue sleeping all through the night.
Children suffering from autism generally have trouble falling asleep, which is why this kit could aid and improve sleeping patterns of these kids. Developers of this kit believed that consistent endeavors and practicing of routines mentioned in the guide could lead to improvements in their children’s sleeping habits.
“My colleagues and I are excited about having the opportunity to develop this parent toolkit for sleep and are appreciative to Autism Speaks for disseminating it to families in need of this information. Sleep problems in children with autism can be overwhelming for families, and we hope that this information makes a difference in their day-to-day lives,†commented Beth Malow, Burry Chair in Cognitive Childhood Development and co-developer of the sleep guide.
The complete routines of the children are stated as a step-by-step activity in the kit. For example, bed time habits such wearing a night suit, visiting the toilet, washing hands and brushing teeth are presented in the toolkit. This offering has been developed as a result of a partnership between Vanderbilt University and Autism Speaks.