My mom doesn't know I have adhd/autism but when I was younger-now I've had insomnia. The only thing she's found to help me with it is melatonin (5mg for me aka the lowest dose). I have a hard time getting and staying asleep and we've found that's the only way. She used to be worried but now she says "as long as you sleep is what matters, yes I'd like you to sleep earlier but I understand if you can't". I don't know if that helps but 😊❤ it's actually about to be 4am while I write this haha ❤
Please let you mom know how empowering it is to see an autistic adult just being themselves! It makes me feel so validated seeing stims that I do myself. It makes me feel a little bit less like an imposter. 😄
I have arfid, and have since I started eating food. I sometimes eat once a day. Best thing you can do for them is not to stress about it. I can get food down if I'm not paying attention but if I'm thinking too hard I can't even eat my favourite food. So if anyone else is going through this: a lot of breakfast food like cereal has a lot of vitamins and minerals! They're a lot easier to eat too.
Not a mom but a fellow insomniac, I’ve noticed a pattern of boring days and long nights..with that I find in order get a good or better than nothing night’s rest is to stimulate in the proposed waking hours so there’s not too much unspent energy for what should be the dreaming hours; also the sleep guilt is very normal, it comes with empathy, your a very good mom
I could be exhausted by what I would *like* to be my bedtime but I sometimes end up taking a nap into the AM instead of sleeping through the night. In those cases I find myself with headphones and music, dancing as quietly as I can around my bed in my room; if it’s not dancing than it’s pacing, not stressed at all but if my physical body is busy like waking or rather pacing or flicking my hand in cool~ way then my train of thought can go along and resolve itself to a sometimes adequate sleep environment
I have had so many issues as a child and as an adult with insomnia, actually right after watching this short the other day i saw something on "somnolent" and "insomnolent" thoughts. They recommending picking short words and doing letter associations like "bear" b bread" and picture a bear "r raccoon" and picture the racoon and so on. Its boring but tough and apparently it can help.
🩵🩵🩵Huge hugs🌼🩵🩵🩵 I didn't realize I was waiting for it to get better, socially. .. I've been scripting as far back as I can remember... I would freeze, just as you did, for the same reasons... You are the farthest thing from rude or stupid. You genuinely seem super nice, thoughtful, loving, caring, smart, funny 🌼🩵🩵🩵
I also am neurodivergent and deal with insomnia but I dont really get up and stimm by walking so my mom doesnt really know 🤔 Would have loved to share her experience if she knew tho😊
Yep, this is my life as well. Usually I've left something as a clue...like leaving the washing machine door wide open to remind me I'm doing laundry. If I remember to go back into the kitchen that is 🤦
That's hard. All my kids are on the spectrum and yeah they hardly sleep. We use melatonin, My oldest daughters ask for it. The others won't take it unless we give it to them. I am also on the spectrum (49), I take magnesium to make me fall asleep. But yeah, it's crazy how they can be up all night and have all kinds of energy during the day. If he's okay and not endangering himself, you should trust him and try to sleep. I use Loop ear plugs for sleeping when my kids are up late. You need to rest.
I’m not autistic or adhd, but I also go on rants about random stuff I’ve researched and I love listening to others rant about stuff they’ve researched.
Man it's a self fulfilling cycle too. The more anxious you get, the worse they react, and you get more anxious... rinse and repeat. I've just recently learned (almost 35, diagnosed ADHD at 27) that the environment is a HUGE factor in my confidence. I've had a few jobs where it just never seemed to click, and jobs where I was an absolute Rockstar. I struggled with imposter syndrome for a long time blaming myself for the things that didn't work out. Now that I'm back in an environment I FEEL good in, it all kind of clicked. It's not even that I'm accomodated different, or things in general are all that different. Sometimes the people or the situation just isn't a fit and we need to move on. ❤❤
I love historical fashion and historical inspired fashion. I’d only hope that my future hypothetical son shares the same interests. You two are the dream team and had I met either of you in high school we would have been good friends
I had a nervous breakdown. No joke here. I suggest at least 1 night were you're not responsible if possible. Just so you are getting enough sleep. My son wouldn't sleep still at 4 and I lost my mind not sleeping.
My son sees a pediatric sleep specialist because of his insomnia and it has been helpful. We have done sleep studies, medications, and are now in the process of getting a Cpap machine because there was more going on than we realized. If it is something available in your area I recommend giving it a try.
If the problem is around sleeping, I'd like to share a discovery I just made (through another video) about somnolent vs insomnolent thoughts. I'm sure you can find videos or websites about those tricks yourself. But in brief: the trick (apparently medically/scientifically backed AND with lots of people reporting success) is to imagine concrete things instead of worries or actions. You start by vividly imagining a random thing, then vividly imagine things starting with the letters making up the word for that thing, etc. The trick won't work for me, unfortunately, because I have aphantasia. But it might work for you or your son (or other readers of these comments). If the problem is around worrying, the trick might still work to get you to stop worrying and fall asleep yourself. Because like others wrote, it doesn't sound like you NEED to worry. It sounds like your son is dealing with it in a healthy way. Being awake at night isn't ideal, but if he's using those hours in ways he enjoys, maybe it would be better to adjust his sleeping schedule instead of trying to "fix" it by squeezing his sleeping time into society's appointed hours. For exanple, if he has certain times of day that tend to be particularly difficult when it comes to overstimulation, anxiety, concentration, whatever, those might be the hours his mind and body crave sleep. Maybe the somnolent thoughts trick can help him fall asleep, and otherwise it can hopefully allow you to let go of that worry and fall asleep yourself. Sleeping while someone we love is awake isn't just better for our health and wellbeing, but also allows us to help our loved ones better by feeling and thinking more clearly and productively. Finally, if his pacing is keeping you awake, maybe you can wear earplugs or he can pace outside?
ikr! all water tastes different! example: Fiji water has more of a sweet and crunchy taste and texture, Dasani water has more of a chemical and weird taste. it just feels off
Thank you so much for sharing. Honest moments like this can be really healing when you get to choose them even though they're often also painful. I hope many people can share how they relate to your worries and journey and remind you you're not alone. My dad was diagnosed as a child but refuses to acknowledge or approach his own autism. While he has been an amazing parent that got me to adulthood with safety and love at the forefront of his parenting style, his lack of self acknowledgement and self care has affected how we see and treat each other as fellow adults. Your growth and work to learn yourself and be kind to yourself is a great way to make emotional/mental/sensory space to be the parent you aim to be more often now than you were at the start. Good job on always making progress toward your goal of being a better parent than you ever may have thought you could be; proud of you!
Im autistic. I've never tried nutritional yeast, but i think i might try it. It sounds like it might taste like cheese and cheese is one of my safe foods (like brick cheese and also mac & cheese)
Autistic insomniac here! I've had it my whole life but it started getting really bad in adulthood. Getting on prescription sleeping medication changed my life, though right now I'm getting by fine with just one otc sleeping pill which is something I didn't think would ever work. It gets better and worse for many. But meds might help Toren if he hasn't tried them yet! Trazodone and Quetiapine have both worked for me in the past
I've had the same issues! My "happy food" has become chicken and veggies water-stir-fried with a tasty sauce, and I now have a routine to eat at 8:30 if I forget, though it means staying up a bit later while my stomach digests, instead of going to bed on time. Curiously I'm more likely to remember if I have a schedule of necessary activities the next day.
