Sleep Issues
peiautisticsadults@gmail.com received this email with the subject line sleep issues:
"I’m writing today as a representative from AIDE Canada, as I feel I have a resource that could be used within your community. As a collective, we are curating some of our content and sending it out to groups that we feel could benefit from it.
Sleeping issues are often reported among the developmental disability population and are particularly common in children and youth on the autism spectrum. Today I am bringing you a short, animated video and a toolkit on the issue, and things that can help.
The toolkit summarizes our current knowledge around sleep differences in individuals with developmental disabilities and provides an overview of evidence-based strategies that can be tried at home. There are also links to additional resources and questionnaires that can help you discuss these challenges with your child's medical team.
The short, animated video provides tips for developing healthy sleep habits for individuals with developmental disabilities. The script was written by Dr. Penny Corkum of Dalhousie University and was developed and narrated by Dr. Fakhri Shafai of AIDE Canada.
Below is a link to the video we have created for your perusal. Please pass it around to those you feel may benefit from it. We also have many other toolkits, webinars, articles, and infographics regarding Sleep and many other topics you may find helpful on our website.
Video link: https://aidecanada.ca/learn/health/developing-healthy-sleep-habits-animated
Overview: https://aidecanada.ca/learn/behavioral-supports/sleep-challenges-in-developmental-disabilities
Website: https://aidecanada.ca/
Other helpful resources included on the website are:
a free, nation-wide lending library
a database of articles and research summaries focused on autism and/or intellectual disability
a national map of autism and/or intellectual disability programs and services
a calendar of events, including on-demand streaming of past recorded webinars,
and several other features that we hope will be very valuable to our community. The direction and applications of the site were developed after many months of community consultations, quantitative surveys and focus groups with autistic self-advocates, parents, family members, service providers and educators.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions, or feedback you may have!
Best Regards
Rebecca D’Agnilli
www.aidecanada.ca"
I was initially pleased to see the email but then really disappointed once I read the material and saw that it was for children only. I started to prepare this response :
"I'll admit I don't know how to respond to this email. Autism is a lifelong condition. The vast majority of autistic people will spend the majority of their lives as adults. Is your information suggesting autistic children 'grow out' of sleep issues by the time they are adults? Or could you possibly explain the obsessive focus on children and the exclusion of adults?
I and most of the autistic adults I know have insomnia. I can't remember when I slept more than 5 hours. And, for example, all the issues described in ' The Impact of Sleep Issues on Children on the Autism Spectrum and their Families' impact me and others I know. I'd really like to understand why this information is presented this way instead of 'The Impact of Sleep Issues on People on the Autism Spectrum and their Families' or ' The Impact of Sleep Issues on Autistic People.'
Additionally, most of "the reasons people on the autism spectrum experience increased levels of sleep disturbances" are not age related. So I have to wonder why you're looking at an issue that affects people and yet are only interested in helping children. "
So, I didn't send it because I doubt it would be received well and also I don't really want to beat up on the people who sent the information. They didn't write it, they just gathered it up and sent it to an email address that includes the word autistic.
But I do wonder what others think of either issue. Do you get frustrated that all the supports seem to focus on children and there's nothing for anyone else? I'm not suggesting children should be excluded but rather that autistic adults be included.
Or if you'd rather not talk about that or think I'm overreacting do you have any comment on the sleep issues? I exercise, meditate, don't look at my devices in bed, etc., and I've had trouble sleeping all my life. Love to hear how others are faring.