text: any thoughts on valerian to help with sleep for 11 y/o boy w autism and disabilities caused by brain damage?   valerian root is a sedative it calms w/out the side effects of orthodox drugs. i'm unaware of your childs other issues, so i want you to know valerian is also used in the treatment of seizures, muscle spasms, nervousness. if your son is on any medication that causes a drowsy effect it will increase that, so be careful not to give valerian root to him at the same time because it will slow the rate of his heart, however while it slows that it alsoincreases the strength of each beat. also valerian root stinks, this is because of the drying process, just wanted to warn you. you may want to try a pure chamomile extract, or a tincture of herbal minerals like alfalfa, borage, chickweed,oatstraw,horsetail, and red raspberry. theres a lack of trace minerals in our food these days and it effects our babies. scullcap is another sedative, it is a bit more slow working than valerian, but it would be gentler on his system. good luck to you