Autistic Children Sleep Assistance

My granddaughter is autistic. She is 13 and has a very difficult time going to sleep. Most nights, the entire family is up when she is up. This makes for a bad situation when all of us have to go to work and we already get up at 4 am in the morning. We as a family are looking for the most natural meds possible to give to the autistic 13 year old. Although we would rather not, sometimes she will bit, scratch herself and others including all of us in the family as well as become aggressive and have major meltdowns. Most of you who have had any dealings with autistic kids already know what I am talking about. Any help would be appreciated.

Melatonin spray works on my nephew and he has the same issues with sleeping.

[courtney48]

Have you posted this in other groups?  There are several which might help in addition to comments in this forum.  You might try these community groups: Children-Special Needs, Autism, Sleep Disorders.  You might also post in the "expert" forums: Autism and Aspergers, Child Behavior.  Good luck.