Aggressive sleeping

Aggressive sleeping is a term coined by my daughter to describe what my son does on a regular basis. He came home to us this afternoon for a few days and has been doing it all evening. Basically it involves not waking up whatever the stimulus - he's sat through a couple of TV programmes, we've sat with him on the sofa, he's been toileted (and performed adequately), and had a bath. He has slept through it all and is now in bed still asleep.

This is partly linked to his non standard sleep/wake pattern - he can often sleep for 48 hours continuously or be awake for a similar period, but the basic pattern is idiosyncratic - i.e. no real pattern at all. It doesn't seem to do him any real harm (certainly compared to the other problems he has) and is more of an inconvenience for us and the nurses than for him. We plan special events for him, take him to exciting places arrange to visit relatives and friends - and sometimes he just sleeps through them. He has slept through concerts, swimming sessions and even horse riding in the past.

He does also do the reverse - staying awake all night etc. though this tends to be less of a problem - it does mean we get through a lot of story tapes and late night TV etc. but as long as there's something to keep his interest, he's usually fairly happy about being in bed.

Meanwhile the rest of the world trundles on its 24 hour a day clock watching. Sometimes I think he's got the right attitude - it's just not a very socially convenient one for everyone else.