Question for parents of kids with ASD: how long did you keep your child in a crib?

[JFTB1177]

My son is 2.5 and still in a crib (he has ASD). He's on the smaller side so it's ok for now. I'm scared at the thought of having him in a bed because the kid gets into everything, I mean EVERYTHING and I'm terrified he would strangle himself with the blinds or mess with an outlet (even though I have covers on them), etc. I never had to worry about anything when my older (NT) son was his age, he never touched anything (or at least it happened rarely).

He also rocks and bangs in his crib to self soothe and will do it for hours at a time, every night. If I took him out of the crib I'm worried he would do it against the wall, which is much harder than his crib. And lastly, I worry he would wander the house while we all slept.

How long can I keep him in a crib (he isn't climbing out and hasn't tried yet, shockingly)? How long did you keep your child in a crib (your child with ASD)?

[Kokolove]

We kept our son (also with ASD) in his crib until he was about 2.5 and we needed the crib for his baby sister.  But in retrospect I probably should have just bought a second crib instead of a new toddler bed, and let him sleep in a crib too.  When we switched him to the bed he got out of it constantly to run around and cause trouble.  He pulled the curtains down, emptied his dresser drawers, and even peeled the wallpaper off the walls.  It was so exhausting putting him back to bed over and over again.  Sometimes he would run around his room for more than an hour before going to sleep (often on the floor).  He eventually got used to the bed, but it took several months. 

For a while, he was climbing into the crib with his sister and waking her up (they share a room).  To keep him out, I got a crib tent from Amazon and it works like a charm.  If you want to keep your child in his crib longer, I would recommend the crib tent.  I wish I would have done that instead of putting him in the big kid bed.

My son is almost 4 now, and he is finally sleeping well in his bed.  He has stopped bothering his sister at night and I have considered removing the tent from her crib, but I like the way it keeps her safe now that she is starting to climb.  And since we started using melatonin at bedtime, he falls asleep much faster and doesn't spend any time running around. 

[JFTB1177]

Thanks for responding to me Kokolove! See, that's what I'm worried about, that my DS would be running around his room for hours and doing God-knows-what! His crib is sort of loose from all his banging and rocking... we check it a lot to make sure it's still safe. For now it is but we are trying to figure out if we should buy a new, sturdier crib, wait it out with the crib he has now, or start the process of moving him to a toddler bed.

[Lollybrat]

We moved our DS with ASD out of the crib and into a twin bed a couple of months after he turned 2.  For one thing, he had managed to get out of it a couple of times (pulled up on and somersaulted over the side rail). But mostly it was the fact that DS was (still is) very needy at night. As an infant and young toddler he usually coslept with us. After we moved him to the crib, he still needed one of us with his, so DH and I ended up spemding alternate nights on the floor next to the crib. So we dediced to move him to a twin bed so one of us could lay down with him. This worked well for us, but every family's needs are different.

[Stephenie]

My son starting escaping from the crib at about 17 months.. so we got a toddler bed then. I wish I could have kept him in there longer. He gets up and does things he shouldn't. He broke a toilet tank lid once and I cut my leg on the shards and needed 14 stitches. At least it was me and not him... but I really worry about him at night time. 

[LynnS6]

My child just has SPD, and not ASD, but he was happy in his crib until he was 5. Really, he loved it. He only moved out of it when we dismantled it to paint his room, and I made him try sleeping in a regular bed (in his sister's room while the paint dreid) to see how it went. They liked it so much that they kept sharing a room for 2 years.

So if your son is happy and safe there, I'd keep him there as long as possible.
Edited by LynnS6 - 9/30/11 at 10:12pm

[FarmerBeth]

Do whatever makes your family comfortable.  My ASD child climbed out of the crib before one year (actually, all my kids were climbers) so I didn't have that option, but if it works for you, why not?

[JFTB1177]

Thanks farmerBeth! I ended up ordering a new crib that converts into a toddler bed and daybed later on! It is MUCH sturdier, thank goodness! Just put it together today :) He tried to rock and bang in it during his nap but this one (not being loose) doesn't "give" like the old one so he gave up on it and started banging his head to self soothe, but stopped that too after a short period of time because I think he realized it hurt! He's sleeping in it now. I honestly see him being in it for another year, so I'm happy with my decision. Thanks everyone!!

[MommyKelly]

My bio asd kids co/slept. My foster son we got at 2 and I thought I could put him in a toddler bed. HA! was I wrong. We ended up with a crib with a crib tent until he turned 5. He was a danger to himself, the tent was a lifesaver. There is a co that makes them for twin beds.   http://www.myreadysetbloom.com/

[34me]

If you still need something for the future insurance will sometimes pay for these types of beds http://courtneybed.com/ and http://www.sleepsafebed.com/index.htm

[RiverTam]

With both my SN kid and my NT kid, we baby-proofed their room and put a baby gate on the door when we moved them to a toddler bed. If they were up, they couldn't get out of the room. There wasn't anything in the room that could harm them. 

I worried about them falling while trying to climb out of the crib. 

[FarmerBeth]

Originally Posted by RiverTam 

With both my SN kid and my NT kid, we baby-proofed their room and put a baby gate on the door when we moved them to a toddler bed. If they were up, they couldn't get out of the room. There wasn't anything in the room that could harm them. 

I worried about them falling while trying to climb out of the crib. 

Us, too, where as we had climbers.  I think that even for the OP, who is finding the crib to be a good solution for her family, it's really important to baby proof the room before the child is ready to get out of the crib.  And to keep up with their increasing sophistication with handling your child proofing.  My ASD child had unbelievable ability to learn how to deal with safety devices.  We learned to actually lock (with a key) some items and have a bell on the door so we would hear it open.