Any Moms Every Experienced Night Terrors?

well i have had night terror my hole life, it verry well could have them and I have spent most my working career working with the mentenly disabled and callnage. Now for a normal person going through night terrors I know when you wake me up I am disorated and have a overwelming sensation of doom and fear, but I am able with in momonts to rekoop. And Peofessionals say not to wake anyone from night terror for that reason, It maybe that with his autism when you wake him he can rekoop, I would talk to a sleep speaciulist and tell then try to sooth him with out waking him up. I know it hard, but just try it and see if the crying stops sooner.

My son also has Autism. i don't think its a night terror, but more of a way of being enable to communicate. Something was wrong, but he couldn't tell you why. Its hard to hear him cry all nite, but it doesn't stop until he allows it. If it helps... My boy rarely does it. When he does its awful, but it tends to be a small phase.

MJS

I had night terrors growing up, but I don't remember any of them. My parents would sometimes ask me if I remembered then ight before, but I never did. I also walked in my sleep sometimes. I think I had a hard time with sleeping and dreams until I hit about 8 years old. I just outgrew them. I know they would try to wake me up and it never worked. As far as I know I have no food allergies.
I sleep great now, so it will pass.

Hi Alicia. I too have kids on the spectrum and kids that had night terrors. The others that said not to try to wake them are right. It makes things worse, especially with sensory issues. My kiddos that had night terrors also had sensory issues and we found their weighted blanket helped some. Our OT said that they can get used to the weight from the blanket so put it on them to go to sleep, remove the blanket when they are totally asleep and then put it back on when we went to bed. It helped. We didn't see as many night terrors and the intensity wasn't as bad. We had nights of the two hour screams so I can totally relate. Good luck!

Homeopathy helps with night terrors and autism. Look at Amy Lansky's site www.impossiblecure.com. Dr. Lansky is the author of The Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy. She has written about her experiences with her son who was diagnosed with autism. She also has a radio show called "There is Hope with Homeopathy." There are archives of the radio show on the website. I am a homeopath with a practice in Benicia and Pleasant Hill. I am giving a free class called Healthy Kids with Homeopathy Feb. 14 at 3:30P at Elephant Pharm in Walnut Creek. M. N., CHom, www.myranissen.com.

My daughter has had terrible boughts of night terrors. From what I've read, though, it's harder on mommy than it is on the child. Apparently they do not have any recollection of the night terror. (Unlike a nightmare.) The best (& most difficult) thing to do is just let it happen. If you try to stop him or sooth him, it usually makes it worse. The longest episode my daughter had lasted approximately 30 minutes on/off. I just stayed with her to make sure she didn't hurt herself (didn't touch her or talk to her)& she eventually stopped. I had to go through a few episodes to discover that this truly is the best thing to do. Even if it appeared that she was looking right at me & asking for me, I just let it happen. I found that when I did interfere or attempt to sooth her, she got more agitated.
I don't know how/if autism affects night terrors. But, I would imagine that the same approach works across the board. Again, it's really hard to just sit & watch it happen, but if you can get through it once & see the results you'll be better equipped to handle future episodes.
Good luck!

My oldes who is now 13 used to have night terrors. We were told to leave her be - do not touch her or move her. That apparently makes it worse. She would work through it and she outgrew it. It is very difficult not to be able to comfort your child. Good luck.

I am a stay-at-home mom of 4, ages 13, 10, 7 and 4.

I experienced those with my son after we moved to Pacifica when he was first 3 years old, it is very normal for children of that age to go through those. ( my ped told us) He never cried for that long. Most of the time I could wake him up and then calm him down, it did take a while but never more then about 30-45 min, I would talk to you doctor to find out how to deal with your son. Because each child is differant. They do out grow them he is four & half and has not had one for a long time.

Hi Alicia,
My nine year old son went through this at from about 2-5 years old. Our doctor also said NOT to try to wake him up. We would sit with him with a hand on his back or tummy depending on how he was laying in bed and talk to him quietly the "your O.K. and we are here with you- you are safe in bed-" etc.
It was very frustrating and hard to see him so upset and I am a doer and it was hard for me not to wake him up but if I did it was worse. Also he often did not remember it at all the next day.
It seem as he had more language skills and could talk through what was bothering in the day then he stopped having them.
He was a late talker, I think from having an older sister who would happily do all his communicating for him.
Now he is a great sleeper and does all his own talking.
It lasted about 2 years on and off. Good luck I know it is hard.
E.

Dear Alicia,

I also have a son on the autism spectrum.When he was little we used to rock him and put on soothing tapes and sometimes just hum to the music whiling rocking. Let me know if this is any help. This would take a few minutes but it always seemed to calm him down.Now he is 15 years old and the most loving boy.
K. P.

My kids don't have Autism so I can't be for sure but with both of my boys I used a product by Hylands called Calms Forte 4 kids http://hylands.com/products/calms4kids.php the little tablets dissolve in the mouth and my kids love them.

When your son gets older you might try teaching him to knit, I have heard that children with Autism do well with something to keep the hands busy and it is also relaxing. I am going to teach a Sundays School class full of kids to knit because on of the boys has Autism.

My sister and I both suffered from night terrors as a child, and my son (now 7) did as well. None of us remember having night terrors and would wake up from them not remember either. For my sister (I am 21 years older than she, so I remember clearly), what would help is for her to be taken to the potty. She would fight us all the way and be screaming, but we would get her on the potty, and she would go and then just snap out of the night terror like nothing was wrong. For my son, my best solution was to try to prevent them. I had heard from another mom that sugary drinks or food before bed might trigger them, so I made sure that if he needed a drink before bed, it was only water. Apple juice really seemed to trigger them for some reason. I don't know if this will help at all, but it's worth a try. I know that watching someone have a night terror is very unsettling. On a positive note, I work with children with Autism and it sounds like your son is really doing well. 500 words is great!!!!

Hi Alicia,

I'm not sure if what you described is night terrors or not, but I can tell you that I have experienced the same thing many times with my now 7 year old who has ADHD. I never did find out how to stop it from happening, or how to sooth him when he was going through it, but it did eventually stop. I think that he (and probably your son as well) have brains that think in a much different way than most and they never stop thinking, even when they are asleep. My son is also a very restless sleeper, talks in his sleep and grind his teeth.
It becomes less frequent as they get older, I know that doesn't help what you are going through now, but knowing there is an end at some point may help you get through it. It is a very scarry thing to watch, and it's exhausting. Hang in there.

Hi Alicia. It does sound like a night terror. My 3 year old had a few of them and they are very frightening for the parent because you do feel so helpless. Apparently, the child does not remember them. My research found that they often begin due to a major life change (we had a baby) or if the child is overtired and/or overstimulated before bed time. I can't explain it fully but they have to do with the dream state happening at the wrong REM stage which is why you can't wake them from it. I think WebMD.com had a good explanation (do a search on there of child night terrors)

I tried to make sure our daughter was not going to bed too late and that she had some good "down time" before she went to bed to wind her down. That really helped and they have stopped.

I have a 3 year old, a 15 year old and a 16 year old. All girls!

My youngest daughter has night terrors on occasion. Usually after she has had a very full day and is over tired. I usually hold her and comfort her while telling her "It's okay" and "It's Mommy" and "Mommy loves you" all in a soothing voice. She'll eventually go back to sleep. My mom had suggested to me that I give her Tylenol before going to sleep on those particularly long days and that seems to really work.

My oldest daughter would have migraines in her sleep which would give her night terrors. It was caused by stress and set off by too much caffeine or candy (esp. chocolate which has caffeine in it). She tends to worry about every thing, especially school. However, we were able to keep an eye on her intake and talk to her teachers, family, friend's parents, etc... so they would keep an eye on it when she was with them as well. The night terrors went away once we realized what caused them. Now she is 16 and she still stresses out over school, and we are still working on that. ;)

Hi Alicia,
my daughter began experiencing night terrors at about 15 months. I would not wish these on anyone. We did some reading from a Stanford MD Dr. Farber (I think), the so-called "sleep doctor" and his first recommendation was to increase the amount of sleep the child gets. So we began daily afternoon naps (not as easy as it sounds, but it was important!) and the problem went away.
Hope this info helps. Best of luck to you and your son.
A.

Hi Alicia,

My son suffered night terrors for years, all due to breathing problems arising from blocked ears, enlarged adnenoids and asthma. What you describe sounds very much like a night terror. My son would appear awake, eyes open and crying, but be totally unresponsive to all things he loved. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about stopping a night terror while in progress. It has something to do with the subconscious mind being awake but the conscious mind still asleep (or something like that, don't quote me). They stop as quickly as they start and for no apparent reason. However, they are scary and frustrating while they happen. My son would stand in the corner of his sister's room and scream, or only want to lay on the second stair of our staircase. Weird things :) Trying to figure out the triggers of his night terrors is the best way to stop them. Once my son's adnoids were out, he got ear tubes and the asthma medicine kicked in, we were all finally sleeping more peacefully. It has been about two years now night terror free. Good luck to you.

My two children have experienced night terrors around the same age, between 3 and 4 years old. They would wake up and cry or scream without being fully awake. I could never do anything to clam them down, so I eventually just sat on the bed next to them to make sure they were safe, and waited until they calmed down again. Sometimes they would really freak me out by talking or gesturing toward something invisible in front of them. Their terrors usually lasted about 20 minutes, so I can't imagine what I'd do if it lasted longer than that. I know that they did get worse when i tried to wake them up, so I just let them be after that realization. The doctor also said to me that it's just a disturbance in their sleep cycle, and that if you wake them up prior to when they typically have the terror, then you make them skip the disturbance altogether. Good Luck, and I hope you get some sleep!

My daughter has night terrors. They started around age 2, she's now 6 and in fact had one last night! She will be talking but unable to finish her sentences, crying, reaching out to touch something that's not there, shaking, sweating... I think they are more terrifying for the parents! She never remembers them in the morning. I simply go in, try to talk her down and hold her if she wants and back off if she doesn't want to be touched. I think the only thing you can do is be there with them until they come out of it. Her pediatrician said to just wait it out. I always try to think of what happened during the day to lead up to it as they are caused by over stimulation. For my daughter it's usually related to watching someting scary on TV or if we had too much activity during the day. If I know we've had a busy day, at least I can be prepared. Then we try to decrease the activity. With your son being autistic, he's more likely to be overstimulated. My daughter has mild anxietyThe longest they ever last is about 30 minutes though so I feel for you if it was longer than that! Hope this helps, even a little!

My son went through this. If he is upset, but you feel like he's not fully awake, that's night terrors

Check his tongue. Does it look "Geographic"? It's obvious if he does. If so, that's a Vitamin B deficiency.

Night terrors are almost always caused by food allergies or hypoglycemia.

Avoid offending foods. Try an elimination diet. Since he's on the autistic spectrum, have you considered a gf/cf diet? AutismNDI.com is a good resource to get started on how to do this. 1/3 of kids on the Spectrum are 100% food allergy responders; 1/3 are partial responders; 1/3 have no response. It doesn't cost anything to try it.

Avoid sugar or sugary foods, especially before bedtime.

Increase his animal protien in his diet.

Make sure he's getting enough minerals, especially chromium. If your doctor is willing to do a vitamin panel (its'a blood test), it might be worth it so see what's low and what's high or what's missing in his diet. It doesn't always reflect what you are giving him. Some kids on the Spectrum suck in minerals like nobody's business. My son was a big Zinc-sucker. But, each kid is biologically unique so you really ought to find a doctor who understands metabolic issues and autism, if you haven't found one already.

DAN (Defeat Autsim Now) has a list of doctors for your area.

Hang in there.

S. (read my bio)

Have you ever mentioned this to his neurologist? There is a higher than normal rate of seizures in autism spectrum people, and not all seizures are "gran mal" fall on the ground type. An EEG might be useful.

I have not experienced night terrors but I do have a 10-yr-old son with autism. Back in the early days of this autism voyage, a psychiatrist told me that children with autism have sleep issues, many times in a roughly 6 week cycle.

I know that this has proven true in our family. Many other moms of children with autism report tat their kids also have various sleep issues: night waking, early waking, middle-of-the-night head banging . . . I don't know anybody who has truly solved the sleep issues; most families just kind of endure it. Even with medication, many of the kids with autism (including mine) continue to have sleep issues.

Did you check for all the common reasons of distress? Thread wrapped around toe, gas in tummy, teething etc? Need to go potty? (My middle son, neurotypical, used to wake up screaming because he had to go potty. He was inconsolable until he peed, then it was right back to sleep)

You might consider charting this to see if the sleep issues are consistent with any particular daytime activity or food.

I know this isn't much help because you want THE ANSWER. However, with kids in general and autistic kids in particular, very often there isn't AN ANSWER. Just know that I -- and many other mothers -- endure with you. And pray for you.

I would recommend not waking him - sometimes that can be additionally frightening in the midst of a night terror. Often, children will scream/cry and act awake, but they're not really awake. Sometimes if you can just soothe him while he's still asleep, you may be able to calm him down.

As far as his language skills are concerned, I would highly recommend teaching him American Sign Language. It will help him tremendously, and will cut down on tantrums, because he won't feel so frustrated at not being able to communicate what he's feeling.

There's a wonderful TV program on Saturday mornings on either KQED or KTEH called "Signing Time".

Hope that helps!

you need to talk to your doctor about this

Hi Alicia, This sounds similar to what I've experienced with my son, however not as extreme. When describing this to his pediatrician, and reading up on it, I think my son has experienced them too. He has had maybe 5 episodes in the last 4 months (he's 18 mos old) His episodes last up to 15-20 mins max. He'll wake up around 11pm or 1am, screaming, thrashing around, doing somersaults, crying in his crib - totally unresponsive to me, doesn't know I'm even there. The only thing I can do is make sure he doesn't hurt himself. I've learned that when trying to wake him/hold him/touch him, I become whatever it is that is freaking him out. So I stand close and make sure he's out of harm's way & it passes within 15-20 mins. What I've also found helpful, is that I sense I can ward the experiences off. I've found I can detect when they're going to start: during a sound sleep, usually around the aforementioned times, he'll let out a suuden shrill scream, then start fussing around. I've found that when I react quick enough & wake him up (gently as possible), he realizes it's me, and I can comfort him back to sleep. Hang in there, talk to your Ped if you haven't already, keep strong, you can get thru this~

We were experiencing similar episodes a few nights a week... almost always aroun the same time. What helped up was to go into his room about 15min before the typical window of the episodes. I would pet I.'s hair and arrange his blanket and sometimes even turn him over if he was in an uncomfortable position. I didn't wake him... just roused him enough to shift around a little. If he woke I told him GoodNight, I Love You and occasionally he'd mumble a little something. Over time the night terrors eased off and now I don't go in unless he's had a terror the night before or he's had a really difficult time getting to sleep in the first place (tantrum or over-excited). He has a litle brother now and they're sleeping in the same room which has actually helped him sleep better... even through the middle of the night feedings!

Good Luck!
Stef:)

Our son had them occasionally for about two years (from 2-4). I never figured out a cause and they went away by themselves.

I found that if I turned on a lot of lights, he usually snapped out of it. Then he would go back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

Here is some great info about night terrors: http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/sleep/terrors.html
It does sound like one, and the listings above give some great advice.

Hi- yes my daughter who is now almost 3 started with these about a year ago. I read two things that helped once I determined they were night terrors ( not responsive, happens within several hours of falling asleep, they don't remember it in the morning and common in children who are over-tired)

One: don't over dress your child at night. My daughter was wearing the zip-up flannel jammies (one piece sleepers) and that was too much. I got advice to put cold water on her feet as soon as I could and although I thought it rude to do, it calmed her down/woke her up.
Two: I don't talk much. I just say, "mommy is here, mommy is here". That helps to calm her down. Some think to think it's better not to wake them but for my daughter, I did turn on the light and that woke her up and she goes back to sleep faster.

After I solved the jammies being too hot, I never try to move her out of bed. In fact, I rarely touch her. Both moving her or touching her seemed to prolong it.
The last thing is that in that time my daughter was found anemic although just slightly. We started to give her iron supplements and decrease her milk consumption (more than 4 cups a day) and that also seemed to decrease the frequency.
I hope this helps. It's truly a terrible experience for us but my daughter never seemed to be harmed by them.

Hi Alicia,

I feel for you on this subject. My daughter, now almost 5 years old, had night terrors when she was around 3 years old. I experienced the same situation you described. I spoke to her pediatrician about it and was told NOT to wake them up. Basically, I sat by her and hummed a little song so she knew I was there. Sometimes, she let me rub her back until she settled back down and other times she had to go through it on her own. The best thing I could do was just sit there and make sure she went safely through it. Eventually, as she got older, they were less frequent and shorter in duration until she stopped having them altogether. I know it can be frustrating and tiring, but the good news is that they do go away. You may want to speak to his pediatrician and see what other tips they may have for you.

Good luck!

P.

My 2 year old daughter has had a few night terrors. It sounds like that is what your son was experiencing. From what I have read, there is nothing you can do to wake them up, you just have to stay calm (I tended to get upset and frustrated with my daughter as we were visiting my parents when she had them--worried she'd keep everyone up all night) and just wait for them to fall back asleep on their own. I just looked for info online, on medical websites, etc. You can always get advice and help from his pediatrician or doctor too, but as far as I have read, the best way to deal with it is to stay calm yourself and try to help him feel comforted if he will let you.