Anthony is now consistently pulling every sheet and cover off his bed, sleeping nightly on a bare mattress with the bedding in a heap next to him. I have reverted to tucking in his top sheet and instead removed the plastic protective sheet, hoping that was the source of irritation. I am also waiting to put him to bed to allow his twice-daily medication, which supposedly has a calming effect, to take effect. Nothing works yet.

I dress him warmly enough to do without covers, I suppose, if he insists on that. I nevertheless find it unsettling to see him sleeping on an uncovered mattress. Additionally, I am guessing he must be at least a little cold, because I still hear him making noise when he should otherwise have gone to sleep.

A final concern I have regards the mattress itself. I suspect sleeping without covers damages the mattress to an extent, yet I don't know how long I will continue to put sheets back on each night if the effort is in vain.

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My wife makes various goodies to take to friends at this time of year. Anthony has become her nemesis in this regard (as though he weren't already). If we are not vigilant in keeping him out of our small kitchen, he mashes cookies under plastic wrap. Or he eats entire plates of them. Or, as is the case with iced sugar cookies, he scrapes off the tops to render them worthless as gifts. Even with us in or around the kitchen, Anthony looks to commit these atrocities with the single-minded obsessiveness he shows in other pursuits. As I write this, I have been forced to drag him away from the kitchen to our basement family room to try to keep him out of trouble.