Ever ready bunny

[Emron11]

My daughter is diagnosed with ADHD and high functioning autism. My 6 yo turns into a silly wild creature at bedtime. She wont stop. She wont focus and just laughs if I put her in time out. She sleeps very little and usually crawls into our bed at 230 am. I am at my witts end. I havent slept all night for over a year.

[Aspen797]

That sounds exhausting! When our son was that age we had a hard time figuring out a sleep schedule. We really liked the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child. It recommended a super early bedtime which seemed nuts to us but, ironically, worked! The more tired our son got, the sillier and harder to get to sleep. The book says it is a release of cortisol that occurs when overtired. Getting room darkening shades and establishing an elaborate daily routine ( bath, books, sleepy music, etc) and early bedtime helped us. Does your daughter see an OT for sensory stuff? Some kids really like feeling snug to sleep. There are fitted sheets, weighted blankets, and body socks like this one- a.co/d/6xjmSVO- that help meet that need. Might be worth a look.

[Emron11 in reply to Aspen797]

Thanks for your reply. She goes to bed right after dinner and a bath. She shares a room with a 2 yo brother so that isn't helpful. She also spends so much time making up stories. She always has an answer that is fabricated . She takes clonidine at night to help calm her down, but it isn't very helpful. During the day she takes ritalin. Some of the same traits are seen in the daytime, but not as severe. I work 12 hour shifts and there isn't really enough time to get everything done. When I'm tired I tend to lose my control easily which doesn't help the situation. Thanks for your insight.

[LAJ12345]

does she get much exercise and enjoy sport. If she likes a sport could be a good time to get her into something physically tiring.

[Elijah1]

Talk to the prescriber about clonidine effect and any dose adjustments. There are other options. Once she is going to sleep at an earlier time, it will be easier for her to learn strategies to fall and stay asleep.

[Nats2005]

We had to start giving our son a 1mg melatonin gummy to get him to fall asleep at a reasonable hour.

[Mamamichl]

ive been there. Even now at 10, my kid gets the zoomies at 8-10 pm. Sometimes it’s a good idea to let her play a little extra and do some exercises until she is winded. It does help some. I also make sure mine has melatonin available. Dont use it everyday as a crutch (i made that mistake), but it is helpful for some nights. I’ve also learned that it’s better to give positives and goals rather than punishments with kids who have adhd. My daughter has a “respectable balls” jar that allows her to buy her own drinks or small toys. Also, having a night time routine may help, if you’re not already doing one.