A mum of a seven-year-old with severe autism has described how a sleep pod costing less than £100 has changed her child's life.

Amy Blakie, from Sunderland, began researching specialist sleeping pods for autistic children in the effort of helping her son George fall and stay asleep through the night.

According to National Autistic Society, it's common for autistic adults and children to have trouble falling or staying asleep, with some research figures suggesting the figures could be as high as 80%.

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The National Autistic Society said that autistic children can have trouble sleeping for a number of reasons including:

  • Having difficulty settling or winding down
  • Social cueing problems, where an autistic person doesn’t make the connection between others in the house going to bed and their own need to sleep
  • Increased anxiety or an inability to relax causing insomnia
  • Neurological conditions such as epilepsy
  • Sensory difficulties such as increased sensitivity to blue light from screens
  • Problems caused by food allergies, which could cause gastrointestinal issues and discomfort, or increased sensitivity to caffeine or other stimulants, which can disturb sleep
  • Hypersomnia - sleeping too much. Increased exhaustion could be caused by the additional stress autistic people experience in social situations.

Amy said that during she search she was initially drawn to the Sleep Pod, from luxury loungewear firm Snuggy, because it looked "less clinical" than other specialist options available on the market, and was "significantly cheaper".

The pods are designed to block out light and noise, creating a quiet and calm atmosphere which is perfect for sleeping.

They retail at £99.99 and are available in pink, grey, navy and black.

The former beautician gave up her job to look after George along with her other children, Eva, 12, and Frank, three, who she shares with husband Gary.

“George’s Snuggy Sleep Pod is like his safe space,” the 39-year-old said, “We were looking at proper specialist sleep pods for autistic children when we came across it.

“We liked it not only because it was cheaper but because it looked a lot less medical. It just looked like a fun bed for a child, nothing particularly made it stand as different for an autistic child.

"Before we used the Snuggy Sleep Pod, the slightest noise outside or as the sun would start to come through the blinds, George would be awake and wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep which then affects the whole house.

“We tried it and after the first night we noticed a huge difference in George’s sleep.

"The Snuggy Sleep Pod has made a huge difference to us all and I recommend it to everyone."

A blue tent which you sleep in
The Snuggy Sleep Pod

After selling out of the sleep pod in weeks, Snuggy, which is most famous for its luxury oversized hoodie, fell victim to various delays after it had almost half a million worth of stock stuck on the Ever Given ship which blocked the Suez Canal earlier this year.

The firm then faced further delays during the chaos at Felixstowe port caused by a shortage of HGV drivers in the UK.

But after months of waiting, the pods are finally back in stock, just in time for Christmas - and there's more than 500 people on the pre-order list.

Jack Griffiths, co-founder of Snuggy, said: "Hearing stories like Amy’s and George’s is heart-warming for us and we’re so pleased we’ve been able to help the family.”

To find out more about the Sleep Pod visit here

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