My in-laws are educators and recently hosted a conference on autism for other educators. It is a series over the course of the year with different speakers on topics all related to autism. My mother-in-law was telling me about one of the topics at this past conference, which was Sleep disorders and Autism. Apparently there is a high incidence of insomnia for this population, in particular, kids with Asperger's and high functioning autism. I had never heard that.
Can you imagine these poor parents and kids? I know how cranky my children are when they have a poor nights sleep. When you have a child with so many issues compounded with lack of sleep, can't you just predict the behaviour problems?
if you are interested in learning more, here are a few links:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1479331
http://autismaspergerssyndrome.suite101.com/article.cfm/autism_and_sleep_disorders
3 comments:
The teachers in my book group talk about how many more students have autism now and what an issue it is in the schools today. That reminds me .....I am only in the middle of North River and the discussion is Saturday. So many distractions.... But enjoying the story Have a super great day Preppy Player!!
My sister's 3 year old was just diagnosed with autism and sensory disorder last week. Are you involved with autism in your job?
I saw your NYC pics. Looked like a wonderful visit. You are lucky to be so close to a cool place to visit.
Hi Mrs. and Ina!
For the last eight years I have been teaching in a rec program for kids/teens with autism. They come to us for 6 weeks, they ride horses for eight weeks, and so on. Most are not high functioning. Because I have grown to love it, I now teach most children who are on the spectrum who come to our ski hill. i am very, very interested in anything to do with autism and how it can help me teach that population. I have tremendous empathy for the parents and the kids, admiration too!
What a blessing that your sister has found out what has been affecting her daughter- i am guessing that your niece is very high functioning and that probably made figuring out her issues more difficult. And you're right, NYC is cool to visit! Try not to worry too much and use yoga breathing to get back to sleep. Easy for me to say- i use to lay awake during my pregnancies and worry too :)
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