Son With Special Needs Where To Start

[mommyto9]

I have a 7.5 year old who is special needs. His IQ is a tad low 74 but he is sharp in some areas and lacking greatly in others.

My biggest issue right now that no professional can help me with is his sleeping. He does not sleep. Ok he does but maximum of 4 hours a night. This is a huge issue as he has to sleep in my room because he acts like a two year old, a terrible two year old and gets into everything he can in the middle of the night. This also makes for a very tired and cranky child all day long. I have 5 other kids at home (not counting my adult son who just returned again) and honestly I am burning out and fast.

He takes a great deal of meds I have tried to see if I take them away if he will sleep still nothing. It is almost like his metabolism is super fast so the meds are in and out of his system in less than 4 hours.

He is adopted but I have family history as his biological mom is my ex husbands sister. Ex husband has all but dropped off the face of the earth and will not help me at all with any of our children so a break is not happening anytime soon (like in the next 11 years) No one else wants to keep him overnight as he gets into everything and they like me fear he will hurt himself or everyone in their house in the middle of the night (not on purpose tho)

Does anyone have any suggestions he has all of his Doctors stumped and honestly having 9 kids has taught me a lot but I am clueless here really. I have more issues that I would like some help with at sometime but right now I am too tired to think and this is the biggest of them all!

Thanks in advance I am willing to listen to all advise cause clearly I can't figure this out on my own and school starts soon and the child has to sleep!!!!

[heatherdeg]

Ugh... all the "specialists" told me "kids with these issues just don't sleep--find a way to cope".  Well, lo and behold, we put ours on fish oil just for general help and whaddaya know, the kid slept.  Like we're talking he went from 6 fitful hours out of every 24 to sleeping 9-10 solid hours/night AND ADDING a 1-3 hour nap (he was 3-1/2 at the time).

We used Nordic Naturals Omega 3-6-9 Complete (the non-kid version) and gave the label dosing.  It took maybe 7-10 days to see the change.  He's 8yo now and we moved to an Omega-3 concentrate that we've given him at between 2-4x label dosing but it wasn't doing anything for him.  But it didn't make him sick or anything.  I trained with a doctor that prescribed Omega-3s to the tune of 10,000mgs/day for neuro disorders (but I wouldn't advise this without a medical professional guiding you).

If that doesn't help, supplementing with magnesium might.  You have to go slow with that one because it could loosen his bowels, but we haven't seen that until we get to 800mgs in a day with my 8yo without easing into it.

Of course, don't try two things at once--you want to know what caused any changes you see.

Hugs, mama.  I so remember sleep deprivation.

[mommyto9]

Well I would love to try that but the loose stools has me concerned. I have already had issues with this where he poops and smears and I mean everywhere when he eats too much sugar. When I say too much sugar I don't mean what would do anything to you or me or even most kids if I were to add syrup to a pancake I would be cleaning up a mess all day. I only know this cause of the things he gets into in the middle of the night and the results of that.

I have called several places today after another night of little sleep. I got enough that he managed to get out of my room and was tipping a syrup bottle up when I caught him in the kitchen. He then was mad that he had to go back to bed as it was 4:00 a.m. so he made himself puke all over my room and also pooped himself a very loose and smelly bowel movement. There are so many issues that I don't even know where to start and if it is even possible to help him at this point:(

[StephManietta]

My DS (8 year old) is just like this. He stopped getting into everything a few years ago, but will sit in front of the TV or computer all night if I fall asleep first. He also sleeps in my room so that I can keep an eye on him.

I think his insomnia is caused by anxiety, he is super anxious ALL the time, he is afraid of dying in his sleep, he is afraid of someone breaking in at night and killing all of us, he is afraid an astroud will hit while he is sleeping and make him extinct ( Dino's are his obsession)

He cannot take any kind of stimulants ( aderall, concerta) because it causes huge mood swings and aggression and then he NEVER sleeps or eats.

So the only thing I have found to help at all is a combination of Risperdone, Intunive, and Melatonin, all about an hour before bed. They do little to help with the issues he really has and I see no difference in the day, but they allow him to sleep.  And strangely all three of those are needed or it does nothing, I have tried everything else. He can go 48 hours without sleep, crash and sleep for 2-3 and start the 48 again.

Dr's don't have any answers and when I mention it they suggest that perhaps that is his only real problem and that maybe he doesn't have emotional/developmental/behavioral problems, most just say well wouldn't you be cranky if you didn't sleep

So I have gotten to ware I feel the doctor out to see what they are going to say and the ones that have the attitude of ALL BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS ARE JUST BAD PARENTING I don't mention it to. UGG

It makes it so much harder to do your job of caring for them when you are burn out, I feel for you, I wish I could be more help.

Best Wishes,

Steph