XP: Clingty Toddler at Night

oandmplus1 · September 2013

My 2.5 year old DD (ASD, developmental delays, non-verbal) has slept in her own room in her crib or big girl bed just fine until the past few weeks. Just this week it has gotten worse. Some nights when I put her in her bed, she goes to the door crying and screaming after I leave, and sometimes she just plays. I usually just put her back to bed and eventually she settles and goes to bed fine.

About midnight lately, she wakes up so upset and crying and won't go back to sleep in her own room. I tried everything. I try letting her cry it out some, but she gets even more upset and then won't go back to sleep for hours. I rock her until she is pretty much out, but she wakes up two minutes after I leave screaming again. I tried laying down in her bed with her and she clings on to me for dear life, but keeps sitting up and crying every 5 minutes or so. I tried just continuously going and laying her back down in her bed with her paci and blanke. The only place she is happy sleeping is in my bed now. We have a 4 month old who isn't STTN, so I am dying of exhaustion and have gotten lazy and let her sleep with us a few times, but now it has gotten to the point that I can't get her back to her own room once she wakes up.

Any advice? I can't let her cry it out too much because we live in an apartment right now and she really screams.Is this a typical phase that kids go through? (we estimate that she is around 1 developmentally). She goes to ABA, SLP and OT, would any of those people be appropriate to ask for advice?

kcisthebombdotcom · September 2013

If she's functioning more at a one year old level, nighttime separation anxiety is likely the root cause. I don't really have any insight because I let my kids sleep in my bed during that period and transitioned them out when it passed.

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XP: Clingty Toddler at Night

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