Here’s a little story about an eight year old with Autism, who was unable to fall asleep in his own bed at night. 

This little boys name is Emmett and this has been a long standing issue. 

He’s had some really bad nightmares while in his bed. Based on a very common trait with people on the spectrum called generalization, Emmett now believes that he will always have nightmares when he falls asleep.  

We’ve tried all kinds of things:

1. New beds
2. New mattresses 
3. Night lights 
4. Flashlights
5. Things that project very peaceful light shows onto the ceiling
6. Magic spray
7. Leaving a calming show on repeat on their TV
8. Diffusers with essential oils 
9. Music
10. Door open and door closed

These are just a few things off the top of my head that we tried. Nothing helped or at least didn’t help more than a few times. We know he doesn’t like the dark so our attempts usually centered around illuminating the room in some fashion. 

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