Managing Autism - A Personal View

Routines are imperative for people with autism - and Jack is no different.

We have routines in our house for most things, and sleeptime is no exception.  This is where routine really is vital - with no room at all (in Jack’s eyes) for error.

When Jack first gets into bed, the sheets are straightened, with the foldover measured perfectly against his chin.  The sheet must cover his bed to exact standards, with no creases, and definitely no gaps at the sides.  Honeybear (who has been with Jack since birth) takes pride of place with his head on the pillow next to Jack’s.

Songtime comes next.  A tune about Jack being loved and ‘the best boy in the world’ (based on the traditional “3 Little Dicky Birds” that Jack came to depend on as a baby), is sung by Mum, verse by verse (5 in total) whilst his hair is being rubbed firmly.  (Sometimes the hair rubbing is replaced with feet holding or pillow pressure on his body, depending on his mood for the day.  And if Mum is away for the night, Dad needs to call Mum so that she can sing the song over the phone.)

After the song, 3 kisses on the cheek follow with another rub on the forehead and “I love you” said back and forth about a 1/2 dozen times.  The light is always left on and a drink of water must be left next to the bed for ‘just in case’.

The whole routine takes about 5 to 10 minutes to complete - and yes, if for some reason Jack has to get out of bed, the routine starts from scratch!

Then, if he wakes during the night… well, that’s a whole different routine again…

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 at 4:02 am and is filed under Jack's Stories, Characteristics of Autism, Personal Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.