SEND Sleep Support, Up to 25 Years
Most sleep advice assumes a child who finds the world fairly predictable. If your child is autistic, has ADHD, a learning disability, a sensory processing difference or another additional need, that advice does not just fail. It often makes things worse, and then you are told you did not do it properly.
This service exists because that is not good enough. I work with autistic children and young people and those with additional needs from birth up to the age of twenty five, which is unusual in this field. Sleep difficulties do not stop at eighteen, and neither does the need for support.
What I can help with
Difficulty falling asleep, including long delays at bedtime
Night waking and being awake for hours in the night
Very early waking
Sensory barriers to sleep, including bedding, light, sound and temperature
Bedtime routines that have become rigid or distressing
Sleep anxiety
Day and night reversal
Night terrors and nightmares
Supporting sleep alongside an EHCP or an existing care plan
Why sleep is harder, and why that is not your fault
Sleep difficulties are significantly more common in autistic children and young people than in the general population, and research points to several reasons that sit in biology rather than behaviour. These include differences in melatonin production and timing, heightened sensory sensitivity, higher baseline anxiety, and a greater likelihood of co-occurring conditions that affect sleep.
For a readable overview of the evidence, see Schwichtenberg and colleagues, Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review and Systematic Update, Current Sleep Medicine Reports, 2022.
What that means in practice is that a standard sleep plan aimed at the behaviour is working on the wrong level. We have to look at the sensory and physiological picture first.
How this service is different
We start with the environment and the senses, not the routine
A seam in pyjamas, a boiler that clicks at 1am, the colour temperature of a night light. These are not small details here.
Nothing is forced
No method that relies on distress, and no removal of a comfort item or person as leverage.
Communication comes first
The plan is built around how your child actually communicates, not how a worksheet assumes they do.
Change is paced
Where a neurotypical plan might change three things in a week, here we might change one thing over three weeks, and that is the right speed.
We work with what is already in place
If there is an EHCP, an occupational therapist, a paediatrician or a social worker involved, the plan should fit alongside them rather than cut across them.
A note on melatonin
Melatonin is commonly prescribed for sleep difficulties in autistic children and young people. I am not a prescriber and I cannot advise you on medication.
What I can do is help you get more out of an appointment with your GP or paediatrician by helping you record what is actually happening, and by making sure the sleep environment and timings are right, which is usually a question you will be asked. If melatonin has already been prescribed and is not working as expected, that is a conversation for the prescriber.
How It Works
Free 15 minute call
Tell me about your child and what has already been tried.
Detailed assessment
Longer than my other services, because there is more to look at. Sensory profile, communication, diagnoses, medication, school, and the full twenty four hours rather than just bedtime.
Your individualised plan
Built for your child specifically, with clear reasoning, paced at a speed they can cope with.
Support while you do it
Progress here is often slower and less linear, and the support is there for exactly that reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a formal diagnosis?
No. Many families are waiting years for assessment. If your child has additional needs, diagnosed or not, this service is for you.
My child is nineteen. Can you help?
Yes. This service runs to twenty five.
Will this change my child?
No, and it is not meant to. The aim is better sleep, not a different child.
We have tried a sleep plan before and it failed.
That is the most common thing I hear here. Usually the plan was right for a different child, or it moved too fast.
Can you work with our school or therapy team?
Yes, with your consent.
Does this count as a reasonable adjustment or go in an EHCP?
Sleep is frequently relevant to an EHCP, and a clear written assessment can support that case. I can write the plan with that in mind.