Children with autism, other disabilities, and difficulties with mental health, need
exercise. If their disability prohibits
typical exercise, you can sometimes find special playgrounds with adaptive equipment. Sometimes you can work with a pediatric physical
therapist and perhaps even one who specializes in your child’s disability. Find ways to help your child get needed
healthy exercise.
Another thing all children need is good nutrition. We often mess up a child’s appetite by
feeding them comfort food and conditioning them to dislike and resist healthy
food. One of the worst things that can
happen to/for a child with autism is for them to get to the point where they
will only eat one or two things and they are both “crap.” If your child is at that point already,
introduce healthier foods and model eating them. Have them out and around for them to eat
when/if they wish. Put them in front of
them on the table. There are a lot of things you can do to recondition a child to eat healthy foods. At a minimum, we need 2 servings of grain
(rolled oats are gluten free and great, brown rice is great and also gluten free should that be a concern), 2 servings of vegetables, 1 serving of
fruit, 1 serving or protein (I prefer a plant based protein, eggs, fish, but
not other types of meat), and 1 serving of dairy or a dairy substitute such as
a non-dairy milk or leafy green vegetables. (MyPlate). For those drinking warm skim milk before bed, dairy milk is recommended.
Another thing all children, all people need, is good sleep,
and of course, LOVE, lots of love.
As much as possible create a bedroom environment that is calming, not over stimulating, comfortable and cozy. Some of the links may give you some ideas, but soft colors, soft lighting, and soft carpet can be helpful.
As you will see in one of the videos below, some children
like and do well with pretend caves. I’ve also
done quite a bit with weighted blankets and they can be helpful for some, though
the objective research is not sufficient in my mind. I will add this though, if you use a weighted blanket, please work with, and consult an occupational therapist. They can possibly be too heavy and used
incorrectly. If you cannot afford a
weighted blanket, there are some correction systems that have programs where
they are made and donated. Sometimes
they need the material donated in order to make the blankets.
If the child has a hard time sleeping, I do not recommend allowing
them to sleep in your bed with you. If
absolutely necessary, you can lie down in their bed with them, but better yet
is simply to sit in a chair next to their bed, you may read them a story, or
you may just read to yourself. Use a
soft directed light for the book, avoid electronics and just read, hum, or
sing. You want sleep to be associated
with their bed, not yours.
If possible, you may have a soft comfort toy you give the
child only when s/he is going to sleep and through the night.
In one of the videos below, the mother talks about
schedules. Schedules are a great idea
for many reasons and having a schedule for the bedtime routine, for going to
sleep, and then waking up and getting up again can be comforting, assuring, and
very helpful. Schedules can be charts, post-it
notes, a list, and as this mother does, it can be read at bedtime. I would recommend asking questions about the
day though, to prior to the 90-minute relaxation pre-bed routine. Massaging can be great and there is a very
specific designation called infant-massage and there is specific training for
this.
(For some children, a schedule where they move an item to show it has been finished and where they are able to see on the other side of the chart or schedule items still to come. This could include a chart for just their bedtime routine and an item to move when they get up to show they have that to look forward to after sleeping. In this scenario, include an item for sleep that they can also move to show as completed when they get up. For some children a chart/schedule for the entire day or two or three separate charts/schedules for different segments of the day can be helpful.)
A warm bath and shower are very helpful and the mother in
the video adds something specific to the bath and another mother I have
recently communicated with adds lavender to the bath. I like both ideas if they work for your child
and as long as they are healthy and safe.
I’ll talk more about essential oils and smells as well as food on a
subsequent page.
This really fits better into the next page, but I want to
stress this here. Many children with autism
or other disabilities have co-occurring disabilities and/or health
problems. Melatonin is a key factor in
sleep and can be purchased in most grocery stores and pharmacies. Typically it is safe in small amounts;
HOWEVER, for children, children with disabilities, children with autism, please
consult their physician before starting them on melatonin.
Click her to continue the series: consulting a physician.
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