absence seizures?

[inky leeuhhh]

i think my dd might be having these. she is 6 yo, and autistic if that makes any difference. a couple years ago i thought she may be having seizures, but the ped told me it was most likely infant shudders (or something like that). she had a couple that scared me- one in the middle of the night where she shook for a while in her sleep, and one that she had in my arms while i was reading her a story. then they stopped, so i forgot about it. well, my cousin has has seizures all her life and e mailed me the other night telling me she thought she had seen audrey have one the other day when we were all together. so i did some research, and i wonder if im confusing what i have thought all this time are stims with seizures? for example, this am when we were making some muffins, she stopped for no reason at all, raised her arms up (bent at the elbow with her hands and fingers by her face), did some weird things with her fingers, and made a sour looking face. then continued on like nothing happened at all. it only lasted maybe 10 seconds. she hand flaps and shakes her hands, ect a lot so it's a little confusing to try and sort out what could be a seizure and what could just be her normal stuff. i'll be trying to make an appt with the ped this week. anyone have any advice or input for me in the meantime? should i try keeping a journal of her behavior or something?

[askew]

Instead of keeping a journal you should video tape as many of these episodes as you can. Then take them to your neurologist and get an EEG set up. A friend of mine had a DD around your's age and she thought what she was doing was tics and was seeking a Tourettes diagnosis, and after a sleep deprived EEG they realized that they were all seizures! Follow your instincts and push for an EEG.

[leahmn12]

Yes, it can be difficult to distinguish some types of seizures from an unusual, habitual autistic behavior. The only way to know for sure is to have an EEG (electroencephalography) test, which is painless. They may try to trigger a seizure with flashing lights, and/or minor sleep deprivation, because often the abnormal brain waves associated with seizures can only be seen during a seizure. Your doctor may or may not decide to order this, or to refer you to a neurologist for this.

Yes, a log of the events you've seen is a very good idea. It may help your doctor or neurologist identify the behavior. If you can possibly video it, that would be the best, of course, but good luck with that, especially if it happens rarely and for only seconds at a time! In your log, include the time, duration of the event, a detailed description of what you saw, the circumstances before it occurred, and her behavior following the event. Exactly like what you did for this post.

Incidentally, if these do turn out to be absence seizures, you should know that in terms of seizures, these are considered relatively harmless (as in no harm is sustained to the brain, as can happen with more severe types of seizures). And unless they are very frequent, they shouldn't interrupt a person's activities of daily life. That said, when you're already dealing with the challenges of autism, it certainly doesn't seem fair to have to worry about seizures too!

Best wishes to you and your family!

[Lindsay1234]

Hi inky!!!

Sophia was having funny face spasms a while back and catching them on video was the BEST thing we did. We actually caught 3 and the docs said that without seeing them, they would have been worried.

Grab a camera and carry it with you til you catch a few!

[inky leeuhhh]

thanks for all the advice! i have a video function on my camera and i will certainly try to capture this happening. i have caught this behavior at least two more times today. still not sure what to make of it. poor kid hates doctors so i can see this becoming a big thing to deal with over the next couple of months.