What advice can you give for my school-age child with Joubert syndrome who sleeps poorly?
Here are some basic recommendations to improve sleep for children who have a difficult time falling asleep or sleeping through the night. If possible, eliminate naps. Try to establish a calm, cooling-down ritual for the couple hours before bedtime (turning down/off the TV when trying to get a child to bed, for example, can be a big help). Avoid fluids the last hour before bed because even if a child is not wetting, a full bladder can be a signal that will wake a short sleeper. Try to keep a consistent early morning wake-up time (some parents are so exhausted they let their children sleep in late after more tiring nights, but this just adds to their sleep schedule problems). If these measures have been done/tried/failed, then melatonin may be a consideration, but consult your physician first. A useful book that may provide additional advice is “Sleep Better! A Guide to Improving Sleep for Children with Special Needs” by V. Mark Durand, Ph.D., (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1998). Keep
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