My DS6 has always fought sleep. But boy does he need it! Our bedtime routine includes a short video (30 min. or less), a snack, teethbrushing, and reading to him for about 10 minutes. Then something I started about a year ago is giving him a qigong massage. This has helped a lot.
Qigong massage is a form of Chinese Medicine and has a history of over 3000 years. I've been doing consulting work over the last year for a local MD/acupuncturist who has developed a treatment protocol for young children with autism using qigong massage. I've been using this massage on my typically-developing (in terms of no autism) DS3 and DS6. And what I've found it is it really helps my DS6 with slowing him down for sleeping.
After the massage, DS6 reads on his own until about 8:30 or 8:45 and then we have to turn out the lights, otherwise he would read probably the entire night! (We have forgotten to turn out his lights a few times and he's still reading strong at 10:30 when we go to bed!)
Qigong massage is a very different angle at addressing sleep issues, but it is intriguing to me, as I've never worked in the alternative medicine arena before... (Oh, and the studies done on this with children with autism has shown great success in addressing their sleep problems.)
