Sleep Tight - One mother’s solution to keep night-wandering children safe in their beds.

All parents harbor fears that something might happen to their child at night, as the rest of the family lies sleeping. But for parents of special needs children who wander, that fear is chillingly real.

Consider single dad John. He lives in Long Island, New York on the water. Fearing the boy would wander outside at night and in to one of the local canals, John hadn't kept his son overnight for over a year and a half; heartbreaking. Across the country in Texas, Heidi faced her worst fear late one night when a neighbor woke her up, holding on to her 10 year old son, Luke. “Luke had walked into his house, through their back door, went up stairs, and got in their bed,” she said. It was the first time she learned Luke could unlock doors…and walk nearly eight blocks before entering a near-stranger’s home.

Sleeping Safe

Rose Morris shares the same fears as John and Heidi. Her five-year-old son Abram has wandered at night since he was very small. Even if he couldn’t get out of the house, Rose feared Abram would hurt himself when he got out of his room at night. The Morris family never slept well, always on guard.

Doctors recommended medication, while other implied that poor parenting skills were to blame! Rose, a resourceful stay-at-home-mom, came up with a solution.

“Looking for another way, I gathered canvas, polyester netting, sturdy metal tubing and zippers and set to work creating an enclosure for Abram’s bed,” she says. Her creation looks like a camping tent that fully encloses a mattress. It’s a permanent fixture in Abram’s room, but also folds down and can be transported with an air mattress when the family travels. “At night, we lay in bed together, read a story, then I zip Abram in and we rest peacefully knowing that he’ll still be in bed in the morning.”

The effects of Abram’s new bed were dramatic. Rose, her husband Jeff (who travels frequently for work), and her two other children are able to sleep soundly. Abram has benefited immensely as well. A good night’s sleep helps him tackle 30 hours per week of ABA style therapy as well as 12 hours per week in both typical and special needs school settings. "This bed does more than just physically enclose Abram so he can’t get out; it acts as his personal boundary," says Rose. "It calms his sensory needs by reducing all the massive amounts of external stimuli in his room. He is eager to climb in when it's time to sleep--even he understands how much this bed helps him!"

Active in her local community, Rose knew her solution could offer similar improvements to other families with night-wandering kids. So she set out to offer her bed, which she calls “The Safety Sleeper,” to others who benefit from it. Rose set up a non-profit organization to distribute the Safety Sleeper. At www.thesafetysleeper.com., she details how the bed works, and offers links to other resources related to many special needs issues. Rose has also been active in helping families find ways to pay for the bed, which retails for $1549.99. Rose provides a number of resources, such as how to file for Medicaid help, connections to regional charities that have been helpful to families, and information about grant funds that help customers offset the costs.

Success!

John finds the Safety Sleeper solves his concerns about his child’s safety at night. For John, the bed travels with his son when he comes to visit. John loved the bed so much and how it enhanced his life with his son, he ordered a bed to stay at his home. John received his own bed in October 2009, the father and son have finally been able to spend weekends and even holidays together. “We wake up, and have breakfast together,” says John. “I feel it’s given my son back to me.”

“You just can’t imagine the fear that goes with having a night wandering child," says Rose. "My son would throw himself into the walls to stimulate himself and help keep himself awake. He easily could have severely hurt himself, especially if he collided with a window. For customers like Heidi, they’ve worried for a full decade! I value the peace of mind The Safety Sleeper offers my family, and I am so grateful to offer that same security to other families. I’m looking forward to helping many kids and their parents enjoy happier mornings after a good night’s sleep in the Safety Sleeper!”

For more information on the Safety sleeper, log on to www.thesafetysleeper.com. Or, contact Rose Morris directly at rose@thesafetysleeper.com or 412/580-6537.