Sleepless in Sharpsburg

It's a familiar scene in our house.

I think I hear a whimper coming from Jack's room.

Silence.

Glancing at the alarm clock briefly to see 2:25am glaring back at me, I drift back to sleep.

Then, minutes later, his feet hit the floor. Little steps pad toward our bedroom. A small head appears in front of my groggy face. I reach out and pull Jack into our bed.

"Bob? Bob? Baby, Jack woke up. BOB??!?"
Snoring.

This happens just about every night.

It goes one of three ways after that:
1) Jack curls up and goes back to sleep, snuggling in our arms. Best case scenario here.
2) Jack stays awake for four hours - happy as a clam. It's party time, ladies and gentlemen!
3) Jack stays awake for four hours - inconsolable and screaming like a banshee.

What happened two nights ago? Yep, you guessed right. Number freakin' three. Bob took first watch and got kicked in the face, punched in the jaw and told off in toddler babble. If there were actual words spewing out of Jack's mouth, I'm sure Quentin Tarentino would blush. Dada was obviously starting to fume. So, Mama thought, "I'll swoop in and save the day with a lullaby and cuddle." Yeah, right.

me: Hey buddy! What's wrong...Mama's here.
J: AAAAH! BADAGA MADAFA! (throws body against his bedroom wall)
me: Oh my goodness. Come here. (starts singing)
J: (blood curdling scream) NO! BABA NAGANA!

Yes, I get three words into some calming James Taylor ditty, and I get slapped in the face. Bob scooped him up and took him downstairs. If we can't exorcise the demon, by golly, maybe The Fresh Beat Band or Blue's Clues can. I still hear the remnants of a scuffle downstairs, followed by a "Fine! Do what you want!" from Bob. I came downstairs the next morning to find Jack passed out on the couch with The Little Einsteins blasting off in their rocket in the background and Bob looking groggy after sleeping on the floor. Now, this is one night. Imagine three nights of this in a row. It happens...A LOT. It gives me a short fuse during daylight hours and causes me to meltdown and feel all sorts of crazy throughout the day. Not good. We do see #2 (Party Jack) the most, and honestly, he's my least favorite. The last thing we want to do is party at 3am, especially when Bob's alarm goes off at 4.

It's exhausting, maddening, infuriating at times, and a complete puzzle. I've read about sleeping problems related to autism on Internet forums, articles and books by this authority or that parent, but there's no clear explanation on why this happens and what can be done. We've bought a weighted blanket, tried diet alterations, temperature and light changes in the room, no naps during the daytime, various bedtime hour trials, bath/no bath, rocking in the swing before going upstairs...he's had an established bedtime routine since infancy.

I have no answers, friends. But this gave me some comfort and a little smile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwwtO5viUDE