Melatonin for Kids with Autism, and indeed their Parents
I have long heard about kids with autism having sleeping problems; these range from difficulty falling asleep, waking frequently during the night and waking up very early in the morning. The same problems apparently occur in ADHD. I think some of the sleep related problems are behavioral in nature; some children with ASD live actually with less structure than typical kids. Some kids with ASD do not get much physical exercise to tire them out by bed time. Having said all that, there does seem to be something else going on. Long ago people found out that Melatonin, a hormone available cheaply without prescription in many countries, had a very positive effect on sleeping patterns. What is also interesting, is the other properties of Melatonin and the other types of people who can benefit from it. This does take us some way from our core theme of autism, towards treating cancer and other illnesses of older age. I expect most my readers are parents of...