Calm Sleep for Autism
✦  Free Android app · full 7-day trial · no card, no account

When white noise makes it worse.

Most bedtime advice ends at the same place: turn on some white noise. For a lot of children that works. For a lot of autistic children it's the thing that keeps them awake — in one clinical test, 9 of 21 autistic children without an intellectual disability would not tolerate white noise at all. This app starts from the other end: nothing plays until you choose it, every sound can be turned off, and the quiet has a planned ending. Built for children roughly 2 to 15 — these sleep difficulties don't reliably fade with age the way they usually do.

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Main screen of the app — the Very Quiet, Music Only and Silence Only presets, a Same as last time button, instrumental pieces on calm sleeping-animal tiles, and the sleep-timer ring counting down in the corner

You dimmed the lights. You turned on the white noise everyone recommends. And your child is more awake than before you started — because that advice was built for someone else's nervous system.

This app doesn't decide for your child.
It waits to be told.

Built around one idea

Nothing surprising happens here

01

Nothing plays until you choose it

27 instrumental pieces, composed in the style of the great masters — steady tempo, no sudden changes, no vocals. Every ambient sound in the mixer starts at zero; nothing is pre-selected for your child.

Sleeping hedgehog music tile Sleeping lamb music tile Sleeping rabbit music tile Sleeping giraffe music tile Sleeping snail music tile Sleeping fawn music tile
02

A sound only your child knows

Record your own voice — a few familiar words, played back whenever needed. Layer in rain, ocean waves, a heartbeat, or pink noise next to white for children who find it gentler — each sound gets its own volume slider, and there is no universal setting.

Sound mixer — Main music and My voice / Recording at the top, then Rain and birdsong, White noise, Pink noise, Ocean waves and Rain on window, each with its own volume slider
03

Dim the world, on your terms

A night light with a no-motion option — one still color instead of drifting shapes — for children who find movement more distracting than dark. Auto Screen Off is on from the start: two minutes after the music begins it turns the display black, and about 20 seconds beforehand a short notice says it's coming — so the change is expected, not a surprise.

Tap a color or No motion to preview — set your own in the app

In the app it starts on a dim red-orange with no blue light in it — and away from yellow, a color autistic boys clearly avoided in one study.

One thing to do first

Test sounds in daylight, not at bedtime

Which sound settles a child and which one is unbearable differs enormously from child to child, and bedtime is the worst moment to find out. Sound check in the app's menu does the testing with you during the day: it plays six gentle sounds one at a time, quietly, and you mark the ones your child reacts well to. Up to three are saved together with the music and a Sleep Timer as Custom 1 — then the evening only has to run it, not decide it. It takes about two minutes.

Press play — judge for yourself

Hear the difference

Short samples. The melody leads — even the ambient layer sits softly underneath, never in place of the music.

The music
Layer underneath

Try a melody with pink noise underneath — that's the app's sound mixer, in one tap. Every layer starts silent; nothing is chosen for your child in advance.

Quietly capable

Everything a predictable bedtime needs

27 instrumental pieces

Steady tempo, no sudden changes, composed in the style of the great masters — written for sleep, not the concert hall.

No interface sounds, ever

No clicks, no chimes — nothing beeps or pops up while it plays. A sudden quiet sound matters more here than a loud one.

A voice your child knows

Recorded once by you, played back whenever it's needed — the one sound only your family has.

16 ambient sounds, incl. pink noise

Rain, waves, heartbeat, white and pink noise and more — every layer starts silent, each with its own volume.

Night light, no-motion option

A soft breathing color, or one still color with nothing moving at all — your choice.

Sleep timer, long fade-out

Starts on its own with a preset — 45 minutes, then a 5-minute fade to silence. A shrinking ring shows how much is left.

Same as last time

One tap repeats yesterday's session exactly — same piece, same mix, same volume, same timer.

Layout that doesn't change

The main screen and the sound mixer keep their places release after release — a routine that keeps changing shape isn't much of a routine.

Works offline

No internet needed — reliable at night, on trips, anywhere.

Why the app is built this way

What the research actually says

50–80%

Sleep problems are the norm

That's the range of autistic children with a sleep disorder, against roughly a tenth to a third of other children — and it doesn't reliably fade with age.

9 of 21

Couldn't tolerate white noise at all

In one clinical trial, autistic children without an intellectual disability rejected white noise outright — the sound most sleep apps push by default.

64 dB

Where comfort can end

The average discomfort threshold measured in children and teens seeking help for sound sensitivity — about the loudness of an ordinary conversation.

Why the layers stay separate: a busy sensory system reacts more to a sudden change than to steady volume — a quiet sound at the wrong moment can wake a child who sleeps through a passing car. That's why nothing plays automatically here, why there are no interface sounds, and why every layer fades rather than stops.

Where the evidence stops: no solid research shows that music improves sleep specifically in autistic children — the largest review of music interventions in autism didn't measure sleep at all. Clinical guidance puts routine first, not sound, which is why this app is built around repeating a routine exactly, not around any one track. This is a sleep aid built around calm music and routine — not a therapy or a medical treatment. If your child has ongoing sleep problems, talk to your pediatrician.

Read the full research, with sources →

Different by design

Built to not surprise you

Most sleep apps assume a mix that works for everyone. This one assumes nothing until you tell it.

This app
Typical sleep apps
What plays automatically
✓Nothing — every sound starts at zero
•A preset "relaxing" mix, playing by default
Interface sounds
✓None — tap clicks are switched off inside the app
•Usually a click on each tap when the phone's touch sounds are on
Layout between updates
✓Never rearranged
•Can change with any update
Silence
✓A choice of its own — one tap on Silence Only
•Not usually a mode of its own
Noise choice
✓White and pink, your call
•Usually just white noise
What you pay
✓$11.99 once, yours forever
•$5–10 subscription, every month
Night light
✓No-motion option built in
•Often missing, or always moving
Simple, honest pricing

Try everything. Then decide.

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Before you ask

Questions parents ask

What if white noise doesn't work for my child?
That's exactly who this app is for. In one clinical test, 9 of 21 autistic children without an intellectual disability would not tolerate white noise at all — researchers warned that promoting only its benefits could lead to interventions that do harm. So nothing here plays automatically: every sound in the mixer starts at zero, and pink noise sits next to white for children who find it gentler. The full research behind this →
Is it okay if my child just wants silence?
Yes — for some children that is the right answer. One tap on Silence Only gently fades out every sound, pauses playback and opens the night light; from there, the night light and the routine do the work. That is the app working exactly as intended. Sound is offered here, never assumed.
Will the app change its layout in an update?
We're deliberately not redesigning the main screen or reordering the sound mixer between versions. A routine that keeps changing shape isn't much of a routine.
Does the app track or diagnose anything?
It diagnoses nothing, and it never asks for your child's name, age or diagnosis. The Sleep Log keeps each session's time, track and rating on your phone only — it is never uploaded or scored — and Clear log empties it whenever you want. The app does send anonymous usage statistics that cannot identify you or your child; the privacy policy explains exactly what. This app is a sleep aid, not a medical tool.
Is this a treatment for autism?
No. This is a sleep aid built around calm music and a repeatable routine — not a therapy or a medical treatment. If your child has ongoing sleep problems, talk to your pediatrician.
Is this a subscription? How much does it cost?
No subscription, ever. The app is free for 7 days with everything unlocked — no card, no account needed to start. After that, one purchase of $11.99 keeps everything forever.
How loud should I play it?
Quieter than seems useful. In children and teens seeking help for sound sensitivity, the average point of discomfort was measured at about 64 dB — roughly the loudness of an ordinary conversation — and a sudden quiet sound can matter more than steady loudness. Keep the phone at least 2 metres from the bed and start low.
Does the app work offline?
Yes, completely. All music, sounds and the night light work with no internet connection.

Something else on your mind? Browse the full FAQ or write to us — a real person answers.

Tonight could be quieter.

Free for 7 days on Android phones and tablets. If it doesn't help your child, it costs you nothing.

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