Every year, twice a year, once in the fall, once in the spring, almost everyone has to deal with turning of the clocks forward and back. For autistic children for whom routine is often very important, handling the change can last well beyond the first few days of the time change and stretch to a week or more after the clocks have been turned back or moved forward. The most immediately obvious change for most children is how early it gets dark after the time change. This can be disorienting, especially around dinner and bed time, when kids may either not feel tired yet, or feel tired too early, though the latter situation is often easier to handle than the former!
Here are some tips for handling the time change with kids on the autism spectrum:
- Prepare your child for the time change by talking about it: what day it's going to happen and things that your child can expect, like the darkness outside coming earlier.
- Create a social story, maybe with help from a care provider (BSC/MT with wraparound services is a good option) to walk your ASD kid through what to expect with the time change with specific references to daily places and objects in his/her daily life.
- Check out books at the library about the time change and why it was started.
- Start shifting your child's bedtime forward or backward depending on whether it's Spring Forward or Fall Back, a week before the actual time change. 10 to 15 minute increments ought to do the trick, resulting in the full hour adjustment by the time the clocks change.
- If necessary, ask your pediatrician to recommend a mild sleeping aid to help your child stay on target and on schedule during the time change. One option to consider is over-the-counter melatonin, but any medication should always be vetted by a qualified medical person aware of your child's particular prescription history to avoid any drug interactions.
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