This article is part of a series that seeks to highlight real-life stories of families using Birdhouse around the world. We love talking with our users and hearing how Birdhouse has made a positive impact. Have you used Birdhouse to learn something new about your child? Let us know!
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“30 minutes can make all the difference.”
Kids melt down; it’s a fact of life. But for our kids living with Autism, their sensitive systems lead them to being more prone to melting down than neurotypical children, and it can be a real puzzle to figure out what causes it sometimes.
Alicia had been using Birdhouse to track her daughter Sophia’s sleep cycles and meltdowns, and picked up on an enlightening correlation: more often than not, Sophia had meltdowns on the days that she got the least amount of sleep.
What she did next was use Birdhouse to determine the optimal duration of a good night’s sleep for Sophia, and then use that to adjust bedtime accordingly. Instead of setting a hard bedtime, like 8:00pm every night, she’ll either adjust the bedtime according to when Sophia has to wake up in the morning, or adjust wakeup time depending on when Sophia went to sleep the night before.
“I share Birdhouse with Sophia’s home BCBA, school BCBA, and teacher. It puts me more in control and helps me be taken more seriously. They believe me now when I tell them she can be a different kid at home than she is at school.”
This is such a simple change in routine, but it’s led to truly amazing outcomes for Alicia, Sophia, their family, and everyone involved in Sophia’s care.