Sleep is one of the first things to break down when a child is neurodivergent or navigating additional needs — and it’s often one of the hardest things for families to talk about, because it can feel like admitting defeat. It isn’t. Sleep struggles are common, they’re understandable, and they’re absolutely something you can work on.
Here are five strategies I come back to again and again with families.
1. Build a Predictable Wind-Down Routine
Consistency matters more than any single “trick.” A short, predictable sequence before bed — same order, same timing, most nights — helps the brain and body recognise that sleep is coming, rather than being surprised by it.
2. Look at the Sensory Environment, Not Just the Clock
Room temperature, lighting, noise, and even the texture of bedding or pyjamas can matter enormously for a sensory-sensitive child. Sometimes the biggest improvement comes from adjusting the environment, not the bedtime itself.
3. Separate “Winding Down” From “Falling Asleep”
Many children are expected to go from an active day straight into “lights off, fall asleep now.” Building in a genuine buffer — 30–45 minutes of calm, low-stimulation time — makes falling asleep a much smaller step, rather than an abrupt one.
4. Expect (and Plan For) Night Waking
Night waking doesn’t mean something’s gone wrong. Having a simple, consistent plan for what happens if your child wakes at 2am — rather than improvising in the moment — makes those wake-ups shorter and less disruptive for everyone.
5. Change One Thing at a Time
It’s tempting to overhaul everything at once when sleep is desperate. In practice, changing one variable at a time makes it far easier to understand what’s actually helping — and far easier for your child to adjust to.
When These Strategies Aren’t Enough on Their Own
Sometimes sleep struggles are tangled up with anxiety, sensory processing, or other needs that are hard to unpick alone. That’s exactly what a personalised sleep support plan is for — building a strategy around your child specifically, not a generic checklist.
If bedtime has become a nightly battle in your house, you don’t have to keep troubleshooting it on your own.