As 40% of autistic individuals experience issues with sleep, throughout my life, sleep has always been an issue for me. One of the biggest issues for me was getting to and staying asleep. While I have received help in this arena, it took me five years of living on my own to understand how my bedtime works.

After receiving home services over 25 years ago, I was referred to an autism study at the University of Pittsburgh that involved the study of Asperger’s Syndrome. Following that, I was referred to their psychiatric clinic to address concerns, one of them being sleep. To aid in that process, I was given a medication that aids in winding down the brain and lessen impulsivity in autistic individuals. Until I listened to a podcast last week, I did not realize how much I needed it to not only sleep but make my life successful as an autistic individual.

I have mentioned since living on my own that I have had a very estranged relationship with this medication. This even escalated to the point that I destructively make the decision last summer to relapse, eliminating one and reducing the dosage of another one in half, unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way about that and get myself in the process over the past six months to understand the necessity of the other medication but not the one that deals more with sleep and autism.

Within the past few weeks, I had to accept and realize the necessity of having a constant sleep routine not only to be able to work and do things with others, but also the necessity of making everyone around me more comfortable too. This took months of seeing how this medication affected me and how I needed to arrange it to my bedtime so that I can have efficient and sound sleep.

Through that process, I have learned that I need to do things to help me in that regard such as no electronics or screens after a certain hour and other things like journaling and reading to aid in letting out my mind before dosing my medication. Shortly after which, I can call it a night and sleep a fair amount. It is slightly less than the suggested amount for adults, but it is understanding how regulated I am and how much better I am to function in society.

It hasn’t been a smooth journey to get to this juncture in my journey, but we have made it to this point and I am glad that I hung on and never gave up even at the toughest of moments to realize and accept that I have overcome and realized the necessity of sleep for me. Medication is not for everyone but for me it is what is needed for me to live my best life and function in a world that is oftentimes challenging for me.