Meet Dani & Elliot
Please tell us a bit about you and your family:
We live in Weston-super-Mare, England. Elliot is 6, Reggie is 3 & Emilia is 2
You’ve let us know that you have a boy on the spectrum, would you mind telling us about the diagnosis process?
The diagnosis process for Elliot took around 2 & 1/2 years. We started noticing differences in his behavior around 18 months! He didn’t like to sleep whatsoever and was very erratic with his behaviors. Unfortunately, my sister passed away when he was 2 & 1/2 and he was very close with her. It hit him and affected him in ways we never thought it could. The speech he was once using digressed to babble. That’s when we started to worry. During that time he was then diagnosed with absent seizures which were connected to his meltdowns. The Health visitors became a lot more involved with our situation and we had the district nurses do a SOGs test (Schedule of Growing Skills). As we were already under a pediatrician for his epilepsy she helped us with our diagnosis. Over the 2.5 years of countless hospital appointments and OT appointments (Occupational Therapy), we finally sat down and had the SALT (Speech and Langage Therapy) assessment. In this time his speech picked up and he became our chatty little boy again, obsessed with space and times tables! They then diagnosed him with SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) and high-functioning autism. Which was just before the dreaded lockdown in March 2020.
How did you feel when your son was diagnosed?
A little lost, unfortunately, due to the timing of his diagnosis it was in February 2020. There wasn’t much support around given the circumstances.
What was it that first made you search for an app to help with your situation?
An exhausted cry for help on a Facebook group in 2017 suggested that I try it to help with Elliot’s sleeping.
Did you try any other ways to help with your situation?
We tried late-night walks, cutting out the daytime naps at nursery. We even drove around late at night to get some sleep! Elliot was on medication for his epilepsy (different from what he is on now) and it kept him awake.
How did you feel the moment Moshi worked for you?
It was the best feeling! We actually managed to get a full block of sleep rather than broken sleep. It works for my entire family now (including myself and my husband). We now get a full 8hrs sleep!
Were you expecting Moshi to work as well as it did, considering the diagnosis?
Not at all! And it works so well it even worked for Elliot during his sleep-deprived EEG and his MRI (which was unmedicated). The Drs were so impressed it worked. It’s like a light switch for Elliot, especially SleepyPaws! That is his go-to.
What feature do you find the most helpful on the Moshi app?
I like that you are able to favorite them! As much as we love all of the new content we always stick to SleepyPaws.
If you were asked to recommend Moshi, what would you say?
I never thought something like this would work for us. I was adamant I’d never have any sleep! But this app has genuinely been the best thing I’ve ever come across.
What would be the one word you’d use to describe Moshi?
Lifesaver!
Do you have any tips for other families using the app?
We found letting Elliot pick the stories himself worked well for us. That’s how we stumbled across SleepyPaws and it’s been well-loved!
