M.B.
R.,
It may take months to remove/reduce the incidences of waking up - but moving him to your bed might save you insomnia lessons later in life. It might. It might not. But he's capable of learning that you ARE right there. You have to decide what is best overall for you.
Until he can function without your presence at night, that might be the way to go.
Just presenting an option. He's autistic. He may never grow out of it, like other kids do (and at that, some take YEARS to outgrow it.) A friend's son just left her bed after turning 10. The headache and heartache separation would have caused was not worth it to her, and a happy, well-adjusted little boy who can handle sleepovers now is the result. Priceless.
You have to decide what will work for you, your husband and your son.
Be thankful your son does NOT get irate or any other negative behavior when you are found lacking by his side when he wakes.
A lot of autistic behaviors are simply the mind getting stuck at an age. I worked with a boy who was stuck at about 1 - as part of the autism, it moved back and forth between age 1 and probably age 5 I would say. A one year old would not walk to get anywhere and/or do anything. It sounds like your boy is stuck partially in infancy where the infant looks for his Mom physically for comfort.
Alternatively, possibly a doll? I'm not sure your boy's behaviors, but there are sturdy dolls out there. Be sure to have 2-3 of the same exact coloring, features, clothes, etc. because eventually it will have to be washed, and/or replaced. THAT might cause major trauma if it were to disappear for over a day if you forgot it in the washer.
Good luck!
M.
