Haziq is taking a break so today I am writing in the capacity of Haziq’s mother. I was asked to share my experience on bedtime discipline.
The most common sense thing is no sugar intake hours before bedtime. Haziq was put on a sugar-free, no preservatives, no artificial coloring/flavoring, diet since he was diagnosed at 2.5 years old so this was no problem. No problem meant he couldn’t get access to sugary stuff at home but we still had big problems keeping him away from sugar when out in public. Allow only short afternoon naps. Make preparation for bedtime a regular series of events e.g a bath, change into pyjamas, make a big show of looking at the clock and announcing the time (never mind if he didn’t know how to tell time). Before that, ensure room is cool and blinds drawn. For us, saying goodnight at the bottom of the stairs was a happy, kissing, waving event….. but no last-minute tickling games. The operative word here is CALMNESS.
He gets into the crib and is rewarded with his favorite night toy. A toy which is made available only during bedtime. Then comes the most important part. Put on classical, baroque music. The same CD every single night until he recognizes his ‘sleep music’. I may have lost some readers here. What’s baroque did you say? Baroque music expresses order yet it is always tuneful. In my CD the first song was Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons which is actually four concertos, combined into a concert. This same CD served its purpose for all my 3 children so much so that till today I am unable to listen to this music without falling asleep.
I got the above tip from Haziq’s progressive doctor, Dr. Kadir. Please remember that this was the pre-Internet era. We were starving for information about this thing called autism. When Haziq was first diagnosed I was directed to The Lutheran Church’s library for reading material. They were generous enough to allow a Muslim woman become a member. It was from their 3 library books that I devoured all knowledge of autism. If I ever run for politics I have to ensure my membership to the church is never revealed. LOL.
Lastly, say goodnight, put the baby monitor on and leave the room. Yes I said leave the room (we played games with the baby monitor so he knows he can be heard). If he gets up at night just give water which quickly bores him and gets him back to sleep. Certainly there were nights when all this didn’t work but they were infrequent. Even normal kids give parents a hard time so this part of the training was very significant in terms of time, effort and creativity. However, once regulated he went to sleep like clockwork and I got my much-needed rest. Well worth it.
Sorry about such a long post but I hope to be of help. Lastly, an old orchestra joke, “If it ain’t baroque, don’t fix it.”
Life On The Edge Of A Black Hole 