Autism and Sleeping Problems

Sleep problems are very common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), reportedly as high as 80%. In typically developing children, sleep problems and insufficient sleep can result in daytime sleepiness, learning problems and behavioral issues such as hyperactivity, inattentiveness and aggression.

I have met with many neurologists that have emphasized the importance of sleep. I did not imagine that it would hurt my son or have such drastic effects on him and make him feel so badly. Doctors told me when our kiddos don't sleep they feel like they are "hung-over." It's said that it's crucial to sleep from 10:00 pm - 2:00 am without interrupted sleep, and to spend time each day in the sunlight in the morning hours from 8:00 am - 11:00 am. This helps our kiddo's brains regenerate at night. It's vital that we get our kids to sleep.

How can we get our kids to sleep if we don't know what they are feeling? I could tell that Jovan felt anxiety, pain, anger, and desperation. He would go for hours without sleep. But finally, once we cleaned up his diet and got him closer to the protocol, his sleeping patterns improved. Jovan now sleeps throughout the night, and we now take this for granted. When we look back at the videos of Jovan before he began his protocol and his road to improvement, it brings back memories of the heartache and desperation our family suffered. This has definitely been  one of our biggest successes.

I just want to share with other parents and other people that have sleeping issues - your body is telling you something and you need to listen. Jovan's protocol keeps helping him and he continues to improve in different areas and we couldn't be happier. We can never give up and we have to keep researching everything so we can feel that we are truly doing everything we can to heal ourselves.

Jovan struggled to sleep through the night before he began his protocol. ​

Jovan now sleeps nine hours each night and he is much happier and healthier after his protocol. ​