Sleep Safe Colin

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and your special needs child has wandered out of the house?  Or he/she has awoke and put their head through a glass window while banging their head on it?  Imagine that there is a product that would help you and protect your Child, but insurance won't cover it and you can't afford it.  My cousin Diane and her husband Chad are living this life.
 
     Their son Colin has Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS). Due to this syndrome, he has a circadian rhythm disorder, self injurious behaviors (mostly banging his head), seizures, and also has sensory issues.  Because of the circadian rhythm disorder, his melatonin is released during the day instead of the night.  Which means he wakes up 3-4 times during the night for a half hour to a couple hours at a time.  He is usually ready to start his day between 4-4:30 am.  Some nights he doesn't sleep at all.  He usually bangs his head a lot during this time or yells out for his mother.  She has awoken to him shattering his window and putting holes in the wall from his head banging.

     If he had the safety sleeper, (thesafetysleeper.com )
the mesh and padding would keep him from seriously injuring his head.  And most likely would help keep him asleep longer or get him to fall back asleep faster.  It would also prevent some of his seizures since the less sleep he has, the more chance he has of having a siezure.
The safety sleeper would bring a peace of mind to Chad and Diane.  

     It is not only the headbanging that is of concern, but also because he has no sense of danger, he will wander around the house.  During the day he likes to sneak in the kitchen and make himself a hot chocolate or makes himself something in the microwave (usually leaving silverware on the plate).  He also sneaks out of the house when no one is looking.  It's very scary to know he could do this while his parents are sleeping.  When he was smaller, a Dutch door (half door) would keep him in his bed room and they could still keep an eye on him.  But now he jumps up, and pulls himself up over the door to open it and because of this bruises are a constant under his armpits.  In order to protect him, they have to be alert and ready to stop him from leaving his room whether it's 1 in the morning or 6:30 am.  These are just a couple examples of the dangers he faces everyday if you don't have an eye on him.

     One more advantage to having the Safety Sleeper is that it could be a calming place for him.  Colin suffers from sensory overload every day. When he is over stimulated or just too overwhelmed, he likes to body rock in enclosed spaces or under a blanket. This calms his nerves and helps him cope with everything, even if he just too happy.

     If they had this bed for Colin, it would be life changing. They  would no longer worry about his safety in the middle of the night. No worries of severely injuring himself from shattered glass or banging his head too hard. No waking up to find him missing because he was able to sneak out of the house.  And maybe, just maybe he will have many good night sleeps.   

     Diane and Colin are very active in the SMS community.  Diane raises money to buy other families with SMS children Kindle Fire Tablets, Kindling Dreams for SMS .  They have testified in in front of the Michigan Senate about medications for children like Colin.  They deserve some help.  Please help me raise the money for them.