Gloucestershire mum is on a mission to transform neurodivergent children’s sleep

A Cirencester-based children’s nurse and sleep specialist has launched a new website offering specialist, neuro-affirming sleep support to families of autistic, PDA and ADHD children and teens across the UK and beyond.

Mum of two Michelle, who is an Advanced Paediatric Sleep Specialist with nearly 30 years’ experience as a children’s nurse, knows this challenge first-hand. As the mother of two neurodivergent children, she found that the bedtime routines recommended in standard parenting advice simply didn’t work for her own family. Bath time refusals, nightly battles over brushing teeth, and bedtimes that crept later and later left her feeling, in her words, like she was “treading on eggshells” to avoid a meltdown.

It was only after she learnt how to combine her evidenced based practice training with a neuro-affirming approach (working with a child’s brain rather than against it) that she was able to transform her twins’ bedtimes from a nightly battle into something calmer and more predictable and now she’s on a mission to help the thousands of families with neurodivergent children in the area do the same.

Her experience is what led Michelle to specialise in sleep support for neurodivergent children and teens, and now to launch The Family Sleep Specialist (familysleepspecialist.co.uk), a new website offering evidence-based, neuro-affirming sleep support for families in the Cotswolds and beyond.  This runs alongside Michelle’s free Facebook community, Sleep help for Neurodivergent Children and Young People, which she runs for thousands of parents of neurodivergent children struggling with sleep to help as many parents as possible stop battling bedtimes. Research suggests that this is a common issue many in the county face: as many as 80 per cent of autistic children experience clinically significant sleep problems, with knock-on effects for the whole family’s wellbeing, behaviour and mental health.

Michelle, whose autistic twins are now aged 10, holds a degree-level qualification in Advanced Paediatric Sleep and is trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi). She currently works as a sleep specialist within an NHS-commissioned children’s service, alongside her independent practice. 

“I’m so excited to be launching the new website for The Family Sleep Specialist. So many of the families I work with have been told to just try a better bedtime routine, when actually what their child needs is a completely different approach. I strongly believe that standard sleep advice just doesn’t work for our children so I created this website because I want every parent of a neurodivergent child to know that bedtime can get easier and their child can get more sleep, which means they can too. That specialist support does exist, and parents of neurodivergent children don’t have to figure this out alone.”

About The Family Sleep Specialist

The Family Sleep Specialist provides evidence-based, neuro-affirming sleep support for autistic, PDA and ADHD children and teens, including one-to-one online support, in-person home visits, and online group programmes. A formal diagnosis is not required to access support. Find out more at familysleepspecialist.co.uk.