No Bed, No Problem

I offered Charlie a new word for his vocabulary last night:

'Insomnia.'

He was standing over his iPad (blaring Disney classics) and looking at the yellow-green neon numbers on the Giant Timer iPad app. It had been a good day, with little flares of anxiety at Adapted Physical Education in the morning (Charlie had to go sit away from the other kids on a bench) and then, after an uneventful (in a good way) afternoon, Charlie going up to his room and moving around the furniture. We convinced him, this was not the best of things to do---his queen size mattress is not something anyone wants to move around too much. Then Charlie mde it clear: no bed, no bed. 

The immediate future is not without stresses, that's for sure. Charlie is, as ever, looking forward to the impending visit of my parents. At the same time, he is anxious, as he always worries in advance about their departure at the end of the visit. And, I am Greece-bound with nine students in just over two weeks and though I sometimes think he really wants me just to get out of his hair (me having been his constant companion/Chief Botherer for almost 14 years), I rather suspect he will at least miss the routines of things when I'm gone.

Sometimes no social story, no gentle explanations, no device, can assuage.

We went on a walk as Charlie (as he had the previous night) requested. He didn't run eagerly as he had on Monday night but plodded on in an overly dutiful sort of way. At home, even though it was getting really late, he said 'no' to bed and to taking off his sweatshirt and shoes and clothes. 

The new parental strategy is the reverse psychology/letting go/if you can't beat 'em join 'em one that wehave been employing much of late. That is, no bed, no problem. We told Charlie we were glad to have his company and so he stood for quite a bit longer with his iPad (now playing the Beatles). At about half-past midnight he went up to his room but didn't sleep for quite some time---looking back, I can say, most unscientifically, that Charlie often seems to have trouble going to sleep on Tuesday night. And having a day off for a holiday on Monday, not to mention all the other anxiety-generating circumstances previously mentioned, did not help.

When he was, at long last, asleep---Charlie is not one of those kids who can go for days without any or very little sleep---I snuck into his room and whisked away the iPad, so I could scrub the screen clean every night and charge the battery, and see how much time was left on the Giant Timer.

Though if Charlie is still sleeping soundly when the timer goes off, I won't be surprised.

Comments

[emma]

I'm "Chief Botherer" too, but I also think I would be missed in some way:)

I feel Dimitri's iPod is currently wavering on becoming a problem rather than helpful. The insistence on listening to Shiny Happy People is becoming a little obsessive, as are the demands for constant youtube. Do you have any problem like this? I'm wondering what to do, maybe a small iPod vacation?

May the sleep issues is because of the time of year too? Dimitri seems to be having trouble falling asleep and then staying asleep of late now the days are slowly staring to get a bit longer??

It may be worth bookmarking
http://apergia.gr/index.php
it will keep you informed of strikes and demos which are currently in full swing:)

[Alice]

We have the Ipad/youtube obsession problem, too. Although maybe it's not such a bad obsession. I took the IPad away yesterday afternoon, and my son obsessively read a picture book in exactly the same way until finally we went out for a drive. With YouTube (for us, at least) we get some variety. Although I could go many years without hearing The Little Drummer Boy again!

[autismvox]

last year the airport was closed due to a strike the day we left..... Just checked Kathimerini and what did I see but a big sign for APERGIA.

Big time iPad obsession here! Though so far Charlie seems to be managing it all right. I worry that he is overusing it. Perhaps because he is older he can handle moderating his use of it somewhat better.

Love that about your son reading the picture book as if on an iPad (?).

Shiny Happy People/Little Drummer Boy over and over.... for us, it's been Waikiki (Kinks) and various purple dinosaur songs..... and that Disney!

[farmwifetwo]

I find we go through binges. We don't have an iPod/Pad but we do the same with the Nintendo DS, their computer, my computer, tv etc. For about a month we'll do one and not the others, then for whatever reason he'll move on to another.

I use to get upset and try to break it. Since he does do it himself after a period of time, I've let it go.

[autismvox]

Looks like we're not along about iPad addiction.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/a-parents-struggle-with-a-childs-ipad-addiction/?hp