Mom2MEB,
I really sympathize! DS(now 8) was that way, and still can be when he's excited or anxious. Funny, school just started yesterday and he's had trouble sleeping. You starting this thread may have reminded me we need to go back to our old ways for a couple weeks.
Here's what worked for DS. DH or I would sit/cuddle with DS on the sofa in our room in the dark for about 20 minutes after we finished reading with him. We would quietly play games with him in the dark -- nothing stimulating. The one that worked best for us was playing a version of 20 questions. It was purposely not difficult. Me: I'm thinking of an animal DS: What letter does it start with? Me: P DS: Is it a mammal? Me: Yes.... You get the idea. Pretty much all questions were allowed, even if they weren't yes or no questions... It would usually take just a few minutes for him to guess. He enjoyed getting the answer and would take a turn to stump me. We tried other things like free association, although that was sometimes troublesome if he started bringing up "stressful" words or if I did by accident. Sometimes we did simple math problems (how many minutes until it's 9:00?) that took a little thought.
Basically, it was a way to take his mind off whatever he was obsessing (or stressing) about at the moment.
I hope you find something that works for you. I know it's hard on both the DC and YOU when sleep is an issue.
Wishing you a good night's sleep!
