If a child is struggling to breathe, is floppy or will not wake, or their skin, lips or tongue look blue or grey: call 999 now. Colour changes are harder to see on brown and black skin, so check the palms, soles, lips and tongue. If you are worried but it is not an emergency, call NHS 111. In Northern Ireland use your GP out-of-hours service.

MarionSleep help for families

Learning disability

Sequencing, realistic timescales, and what to expect when things get worse first.

The short version

  • Behaviour may seem to get worse at first. This is normal, keep going. Knowing that in advance stops you giving up on night three.
  • Assess thoroughly before trying any strategy. Where there are several problems, target the settling problem first: once your child can settle, night waking sometimes decreases.
  • The methods are choices, not instructions. Cerebra: choose whatever works for you, your child and your family.
  • Expect weeks to months, not nights. Progress can slip back after illness or a holiday, so be consistent again once normal life resumes.
  • If this is a busy period, postponing is a reasonable choice, particularly if you are parenting alone with nobody to take a night.

The rest of this page explains where this comes from. You do not have to read it tonight.

About 2 minutes to read

Learning disability

Cerebra's free Sleep: A Guide for Parents is the definitive UK resource: 36 pages, free, better than most things you can pay for. It uses the terms "intellectual disability" and "brain condition", and its first rule is to "assess sleep problems thoroughly before attempting any of the intervention strategies".

Target the settling problem first

Cerebra: "for children with multiple sleep problems it is best to target the settling problem first. Once the child can settle themselves, night waking sometimes decreases." If your child takes two hours to go down and wakes four times, work on the going down.

The methods are choices, not instructions, and they are on our ways to help page: sleep hygiene first, then bedtime fading, gradual withdrawal, sleep restriction, scheduled awakening, reducing naps, a comfort object, rewards. Cerebra: "Choose whatever works for you, your child and your family."

Read this before you start anything

Cerebra: "your child may show some challenging behaviour in response to these techniques... and this behaviour may seem to get worse at first. This is normal, keep going." Knowing that in advance is the difference between stopping on night three and getting to the other side of it.

Timescales are weeks to months, not nights: Cerebra gives "a few days, weeks or months" for gradual withdrawal and a month to establish a comfort object, and Scope allows three or more weeks for night waking. Settled problems can return after illness or a holiday; be consistent again once normal life resumes. If you use rewards, once earned they "shouldn't be taken away, even if your child displays unwanted behaviour afterwards". And if this is a busy period, Cerebra says it may be worth postponing, which is worth weighing especially if you are parenting alone with nobody to take a night.

Where this comes from

Last checked 1 August 2026. This page is general information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your child, speak to your health visitor or GP.