Teacher reports staring away/blank look with mouth wide open. No learning disability or lagging

[Anonymous]

DD is in pre-k. We have her teacher reporting to us that she oftens stares away with her mouth open : ex -while playing on a sand table with other kids. Teacher says this happens many times a day. But as far as her progress is concerned, she above or according to her grade. I want to add that she can easily go through her ballet and gymnastics class following all the instructions and steps ( these are typically 45 mns long). Nor have I noticed anything like this at home except a reminder here and there to finish her meals quickly or go put on your shoes etc.There are no tantrums or behavioural issues in the class room or at home. Her Wipssci iv score was 109 ( a month ago) .I am confused what to look for if it is an adhd issue. She just turned 5.

[Anonymous]

It's certainly a red flag for inattentive ADHD, but could also be absence seizures (my friend has had some in front of me and it looks exactly like that).

At this point, since there are no behavioral or learning issues, I would not do expensive testing, because in younger children it is notoriously difficult to get right, and if you receive a diagnosis, it might change later.
We had DS tested at that age, with much stronger symptoms of ADHD, and only received a tentative diagnosis. We tested again when he was 10 and the psychologist said his ADHD was severe, and came with learning disabilities, which we think is much more accurate, and explains a lot. We medicated him at that point, and it greatly helped.

However, just drop a word to the pediatrician at the next appointment, to talk about seizures.

[Anonymous]

Get her to a neurologist for seizures. We had that for a few months. It did go away but they did an EEG to be on the safe side. It was scary.

[Anonymous]

Definitely research absence seizures.

[Anonymous]

She mentions the sand table...can you ask if it's often while exploring a new sensory experience? Maybe she's just really immersing herself in the sensations? Can the teacher distract her during the "episode"? If so it may not be the absence seizure.

[Anonymous]

Absence seizures. Keep your eyes open and talk to your ped

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yes, she is distracted when her name is called or touched on the arm. But the episodes are quite frequent and prominent ( as per teacher). At home, may be we are always active and transitioning from one thing to the other, there is no opportunity to stare away and I may have missed them.

[Anonymous]

Ask teacher to record.

[Anonymous]

mmm hard to tell. could be a teacher imagining things, especially if you aren't seeing this in any other context. but I would go ahead and have the teacher take detailed notes about it and video if she can, and then see a neurologist. there are non-invasive ways to screen for absence seizures.

[Anonymous]

Could also be nothing. Just her face when she's distracted. It could also be low tone. This isn't to do with muscle strength.

If it is seizures, you'd be seeing them at home as well. I would ask the teacher to keep track as should you and mention it to your pediatrician at the next visit.

[Anonymous]

Kudos to the teacher, I hope it is nothing but being aware early on is helpful. All good advise above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:mmm hard to tell. could be a teacher imagining things, especially if you aren't seeing this in any other context. but I would go ahead and have the teacher take detailed notes about it and video if she can, and then see a neurologist. there are non-invasive ways to screen for absence seizures.

? The way they test for all seizures is non invasive, the eeg.

[Anonymous]

My DS has done this since infancy. It got better into toddlerhood, but he still does it often (when observing, tired, etc). The pediatrician was not concerned.

[Anonymous]

Absence seizures. DC's bestfriend had them,but outgrew them. Mom and I both noticed that we would often call kid's name to ask a question or similar and that were delays in responses, things like that. It was very hard to catch. Things came out and testing was done when kid stopped in the middle of the street one day with a school group and teacher raised the red flag. Was non-responsive for a few secs and then came out of it. Talk to a neurologist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to the teacher, I hope it is nothing but being aware early on is helpful. All good advise above.

Agree, our teachers never noticed and one did and never said anything. Get child to ped on monday and demand a neurology referral to be on the safe side.