Falling asleep at the circus?
BlushingMama
member
Hi, I took my 4 year old son to the circus today and I could see that within 5 minutes of the show starting he was getting overstimulated so I was not surprised when he asked to go and wash his hands. (Yesterday we were at a birthday party and he had to go and wash his hands several times and when we go away on holiday or stay at friends he constantly washes his hands and even wakes up at night to wash his hands, its his way of dealing with things). The thing that surprised me is that he then fell into a deep sleep on the seat and only woke up at the end of the circus. The music was really, really loud so I was quite surprised. He seemed to be enjoying himself before that so I never left the circus, the tantrum would have been way worse. Is this a way to deal with over stimulation? I am new to all of this. He does not normally sleep in the day unless he is getting sick, but he has severe eczema so I know when he is going to get sick before he does and he is not getting sick.
(My son is going for his first official assessment with the pedi on 20 June. He is being assessed for aspergers)
Re: Falling asleep at the circus?
He enjoys going to the cinema. We have not yet been to a fireworks display, and have been to the theatre twice, he enjoyed both times, but did sit on my lap for reassurance. The circus however was a lot louder than any of the other things we have been too and there were more flashing lights.
He does not actually use soap when he washes his hands, but he does turn the water on and keep it running over his hands. I think the soap thing has to do with his eczema though, in the past when his eczema has been bad the soap has burnt his hands, so he is weary of it. He has never had strep, but he is a bit of a germaphobe. I once told him that germies cause wormies when we were potty training and since then he washes his hands a lot, won't wipe his own nose and anytime we have used a tissue once it must be thrown away, etc.
When we're preparing to go to an overstimulated place, we do lots of sensory activities that are organizing to him (if you haven't figured out what activities those are for your child, definitely start keeping a list). I prepare him in the car for what we're going to do so he knows what's coming. I'd also take breaks every half hour or so from it all.