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We're helping children with Sensory challenges.

 

The gentle pressure which the fidgetbum brings, soothes, relaxes and reassures the child. We're helping mums and dads, supported by Occupational Therapists, to make bedtime easier and help children to have a better nights sleep .

 

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" I am so happy to have Fidgetbum supporting
Anna Kennedy Online and I think that their product is a fantastic idea to help children sleep better and stay snug and warm in bed! " 
Anna Kennedy OBE

Our Friends (the professionals)

 

The gentle restriction which the fidgetbum brings, comforts children and helps them to relax. We're helping mums and dads, supported by Occupational Therapists, to make bedtime easier and help children to have a better nights sleep .

 

 

We have a number of resources and links below that may help you.

Sleeping challenges for children with Sensory challenges.

Guest Blogger : Lindsey Biel, Author and Occupational Therapist

 

Raising a Sensory Smart Child

By Lindsey Biel, OTR/L and Nancy Peske, foreword by Dr. Temple Grandin

 

The bestselling, award-winning book on sensory processing issues is filled with practical information and real-life solutions including:

 

  • Great sensory diet activities for kids, teenagers, and adults

  • Techniques for dealing with sensitivity to noise, touch, and other input

  • Solutions for brushing teeth, dressing, eating, sleeping, transitions and more

  • Parenting strategies and how to advocate for your child at school

  • Recommended equipment and toys, complementary therapies, essential resources

 

 

Here are a few pointers on sleep and sensory children from Lindsey  ...

One of the best ways to help your child is to make sure he or she gets a good night’s sleep. Well-rested children are more attentive, have a more positive mood, and learn more quickly. Most experts agree that children between ages 3 and 5 need 10-12 hours of sleep while kids between ages 7 to 12 need 9-10 hours.

 

Unfortunately many children with sensory processing difficulties (and their parents!) do not sleep well. Exhausted children do not think, behave, and learn at their best, and being tired makes it even harder to deal with sensory challenges. Persistent sleep disturbances result in higher levels of stress hormones, irregular biorhythms, decreased attention and cognitive skills, and heightened overall arousal because the body compensates to combat sleepiness.

 

Children with sensory problems may lack adequate rest for many reasons such as because they:

 

  • are unable to lower the arousal level of the central nervous system in order to reach the state of calm required to drift off to sleep.

 

  • have trouble filtering out sounds inside and outside the house, whether it’s traffic or crickets outside or even the sound of a sibling breathing in the next bed or the next room!

 

  • can’t tolerate the sensation of sleepwear, sheets, pillows, blankets, and sometimes even the firmness/softness mattress itself.

 

  • have difficulty waking up from daytime naps which causes them to oversleep and then be unable to fall sleep again until very late at night.

 

  • emotional factors such as anxiety or anger, fear of bad dreams, or feeling left out of family activities, especially if there are older siblings who stay up later.

 

There are many theories and books on fostering sleep in children. I usually recommend Marc Weissbluth’s Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Sometimes parents need some extra help from a sleep specialist, especially if the child snores to rule out sleep apnea or other physical conditions that may be interfering with sleep.

 

 

 

For children with sensory processing issues, usually some fairly simple changes make a big difference in the quality and quantity of their sleep. Here are a few ideas:

 

  • Help set your child’s internal time clock. Have your child go to bed and wake up at the same time every morning, 7 days a week. It’s tempting to let kids stay up late and sleep late on weekends and vacations, but this confuses the body’s internal clock and can cause difficulty falling asleep well beyond the weekend or holiday.

 

  • Establish a bedtime routine. To enhance your child’s sense of security, stick to a predictable routine for getting ready for bed every night such as brushing teeth and washing face, cuddling up in bed, and then reading a book together. While it is standard advice to engage only in such relaxing, soothing activities at bedtime, it is possible that your child may actually require some intense vestibular and proprioceptive input before bed. This will take some trial and error. You may find that your child falls asleep more easily if, for example, he jumps on his mini-trampoline as part of his bedtime routine. For some kids, a bath is overstimulating just before bedtime. If this is the case, move bath time to the afternoon or earlier in the evening.

 

  • Don’t let your child go to bed hungry or thirsty. If needed, give her a light, nutritious snack before bed (and before brushing teeth). Milk and turkey contain L-tryptophan which helps induce sleep. Give just enough to satisfy but not so much that your child will definitely need the bathroom or a diaper change during the night. If your child insists on having a bottle to go to sleep, give him water only to avoid teeth problems.

 

  • Consider bedding and clothing. Use unscented laundry detergent and in general, avoid fabric softener because it leaves a residue. Make sure the mattress is not lumpy, too hard, or too soft. Most kids prefer all-cotton bedding and cotton or polar fleece pajamas with tags and labels removed and without elastic waistbands and cuffs.

 

  • Make the bedroom conducive for sleep. Use a night light if your child prefers one, but consider whether your child needs the room to be completely dark. Minimize environmental noise by keeping the house relatively quiet, using a white noise machine, or soundproofing the room. Make sure the room isn’t too hot or too cold. Consider what you can do to fix any distressing vibrations from an air conditioner or clanging from a radiator.

 

  • Avoid or reduce naps if possible because daytime naps often interfere with nighttime sleep. If your toddler is outgrowing his need for naps, limit nap length or eliminate them and get him to bed earlier at night.

 

  • Use the bedroom for sleeping only. By using the bedroom for playing and watching TV, the child may associate the bedroom with activities he can do when awake.

 

 

Certain medications and foods may interfere with sleep. Consult your pediatrician if your child is taking medicine (antihistamines, mood stabilizers, etc.) and his or her sleeping habits have changed. In general, avoid giving your child caffeine (chocolate, hot cocoa, ice tea, Coke/Pepsi/Mountain Dew) because it interferes with sleep.

 

You may also want to consult with your doctor about using a melatonin supplement, which is hormone that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles.

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We're the charity dedicated to helping families with children with brain conditions discover a better life together.

 

Cerebra have developed a guide to help parents understand sleep problems in children with intellectual disability and what can be done to improve sleep. Part one describes common sleep problems in individuals with intellectual disability and how these sleep problems are assessed.

 

Part two gives a brief overview of sleep problems in specific genetic syndromes. Part three outlines some strategies which may help to reduce or improve sleep problems.

 

<< Click on the guide image to find it on our website

 

 

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Happy Mum : Lesley
Happy Child : Mack, 7 years

I have struggled for years with my 7 year old autistic son and his sleep issues. We made the decision a few years ago with the advice of our paediatrician to have melatonin prescribed to him as it would normally take nearly 2-3 hours to get him to sleep EVERY night!

 

This definitely worked for him as it allowed him to decompress and naturally fall asleep however it didn't help him to remain in his own bed, so he was coming into our bed every night which then became earlier and earlier and if he wasn't allowed to come in then a meltdown would happen. The time came for something to change as he was getting bigger and the space was getting smaller, so we looked for sleep solutions that might help.

 

My son has sensory issues like most children on the spectrum and like lots of deep pressure. I had thought about a weighted blanket but he likes to be out of the covers and have his feet exposed. I have tried all sorts of duvet togs to see which one suited him but he would still end up outside the duvet.

 

I had seen some things on Facebook not realising that it may be something that would help my son to get back into his own bed again. So with the encouragement of Mel and some friends we decided to give it a go!

 

I chose the date that it would happen and low and behold my son is in his own bed and has been for the past 2 weeks. I found that the fidgetbum allows him to get some sensory feedback because of the stretch in the material but also allows him to have some coverage and warmth.

 

He personally prefers to be under the fidgetbum alone without the duvet underneath but once under he then likes to have the duvet on top. I think that this is only due to the warmer weather and in the winter he will have the duvet and fidgetbum. I am truly amazed at how well he is coping with it and loves being zipped up every night. I will be recommending this to all of my friends with autistic and non-autistic children who have sleep issues.

 

Fantastic job Mel on a fantastic product.

Happy Mum : Amy
Happy Child : Henry, 3 years

I am the parent of a 3.5 year old who has sleeping and sensory difficulties found in children with autistic spectrum disorder. Our son has not slept longer than 1.5 hours at a stretch regularly or consistently for his entire life! And us even less!

 

Over the years we tried sleep training, routines, magical CDs promising the land of dreams! White noise, sleep suits (our son refused sleeping sacks and until the past year a duvet) Having felt we had exhausted all options and ruined by sleep deprivation, we reluctantly requested Melatonin be prescribed. We saw an initial improvement for the first few weeks, which tapered off and then we were back to square one.

 

Due to the nature or my sons acceptance of all things 'new' I started looking for products and asking about other things we could use. I approached our sons occupational therapist, who suggested we tried fidgetbum as a product which might offer our son some pressure that would be comforting but not restrictive. THIS has been the answer for us!

 

After watching the instructional video (at least 20 times!) he understood and accepted the fidgetbum. It really helped him seeing other children demonstrating the product! THANKYOU!

 

Our son is sleeping for MUCH longer stretches and I can honestly say ..... Of all the money I have wasted over the years ...... This has made up for it! I had been considering a weighted blanket, but apart from being a lot more expensive, not as portable, washable etc - I know my son would have probably rejected it. I think he understands the fidgetbum to be part of his bedding, especially with the neutral colour, which was helpful for us.

 

I can't recommend this product highly enough!

 

Mel was really helpful, listening and responding to our requirements and her customer service was superb! I am already spreading the word - I never thought we would find anything that would help.

 

I would encourage any parent with a child with sensory processing difficulties to consider this product to be something that REALLY could work.

Happy Mum : Saffron
Happy Child : Tate, 8 years
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