On Thursday 17 March 2022, A Good Night’s Sleep: Learning from Autistic young people, a co-production project developed in collaboration between NELFT Emotional Wellbeing Teams (EWT) in Kent, University College London (UCL) and autistic young people, launched at Rowhill School in Dartford.

A suite of guidance material was created as part of the programme, including a supporting video narrated by neurodiverse participants, also saw a national launch as part of World Sleep Day, on Friday, 18 March 2022. The project, which aims to encourage conversation between autistic young people and their support networks about how to plan and maintain healthy sleeping patterns, aligns with this year’s World Sleep Day theme of ‘Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World’.

EWT Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Virginia Lumsden shared the process of capturing the research and employing the findings:

“We are delighted to be part of this project where we take findings from Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou’s brilliant co-produced research about autistic young people’s experience of sleep and find a way to increase the impact of these findings.

The process has taken the research full circle – from listening to autistic young people’s real-life experiences as part of the original research, to collaborating with autistic young people in one of our schools to understand their responses to the research, and then for these same young people to work alongside a team of creative professionals to find a way to create resources that will enable the key messages from the research to be shared far and wide to the benefit of as many autistic young people and their families as possible.”

This way of working is co-produced, evidence-based practice at its best. It is multi-disciplinary, multi-agency, collaborative and creative. We have all been learning every step of the way, and I am confident that the finished product will be a valuable resource with the potential make a positive difference to autistic young people and their families.”

In many cases, the advice we receive to support sleep does not focus on the experiences of autistic young people. Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou at UCL undertook research in partnership with autistic young people to understand what helps them to sleep. The research found that personalised routines are key to getting a better night’s sleep.

Some things that can help during the day include:

• Exercise activities that young people enjoy in a way that works for them
• Time spent dedicated to special interests
• A chance to make choices – taking time to choose what they want to do and being involved in daily decision making
• Doing things that make young people feel good – making time with friends, a favourite subject or teacher, or having events to look forward to

Some things that help at night are:

• Considering sensory needs - are there sights, sounds, smells, environments, foods or tactile things they like to feel that help young people feel relaxed and ready for bed? E.g., a cool room, a blue light, a bath, soft pyjamas
• Relaxing before bed – e.g., listening to music, taking a bath, meditation
• Spending time with family – this could include talking about the day or planning tomorrow, playing a rule-based game, or even simply being in the same room

Building on the initial research findings, the EWT and UCL researchers worked with a group of autistic young people at Rowhill school to turn the findings into an accessible suite of information designed specifically for autistic young people, their families, schools and practitioners. The information includes the aforementioned video, a printed leaflet and a ‘Sleep!!!’ music video created by autistic young people for TikTok and Instagram.

Watch the video below: