Absence seizures vs regular kid spacing out

[Anonymous]

How do you tell the difference? Anyone have any experience with a child who has these?

[Anonymous]

When say you say your child's name, does he hear you?
Do his eyes get big when he's staring into space?
I used to get them when I was young, and my mom would call my name and I wouldn't respond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When say you say your child's name, does he hear you?
Do his eyes get big when he's staring into space?
I used to get them when I was young, and my mom would call my name and I wouldn't respond.

She hears me eventually, but sometimes it takes a little while.

[Anonymous]

My mom had absence seizures when she was a child. They turned into grand-mal as a young adult. She has been on medication for my entire life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom had absence seizures when she was a child. They turned into grand-mal as a young adult. She has been on medication for my entire life.

I'm the other PP, mine also turned into grand mal seizures. Still on meds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you tell the difference? Anyone have any experience with a child who has these?

I'm a special ed teacher, so I have a fair amount of experience with both.

Absence seizures really vary. Some kids' are so short you don't see anything. Some kids tremor or have some kind of hand or eye movement. Some kids continue whatever they're doing automatically (so if they're coloring, their hand keeps moving, but it looks like scribble, or if they're walking, they'll keep walking) while other kids pause. Some kids it's just a moment of staring off into space. One thing that sets them apart is that the timing seems random. A kid who is spacey gets spacier during down time or longer boring activities, so at relatively predictable times. A kid with absence seizures is as likely to have them half way up the ladder to the slide, or while they're telling you what they want for their birthday, or when they're about to shoot a basket, that is, at times when a kid's attention would typically be caught up in the moment.

Here's a video of one kid's absence seizures, but it's just one kid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3iLQi6wt94

Some kids are much more subtle than this one, some are much more obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you tell the difference? Anyone have any experience with a child who has these?

You take the child to the neurologist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you tell the difference? Anyone have any experience with a child who has these?

You take the child to the neurologist.

This, get testing done. My child for a while was doing strange things that seemed like seizures. We took him to a neurologist and they did some testing. It stopped but why risk it and get it checked out. They said if I was ever concerned again bring him in.

[Anonymous]

1. frequent staring spells (for dd typical time was in the car seat on way to school).
2. when you call their name or gently touch them on the arm/shoulder,there is a lapse in response time.
3. more frequent and you will notice more if they have been tired or due to lack of sleep (we try not to keep her up beyond her usual bed time)
4. EEG will confirm the disorder
5. easy to treat. early the better
6. no learning problems.
7. no medication side effects (she is on lamictal 25 *twice a day)
8. seizure free for last 1.5 year. medication kicked in a month.

good luck !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. frequent staring spells (for dd typical time was in the car seat on way to school).
2. when you call their name or gently touch them on the arm/shoulder,there is a lapse in response time.
3. more frequent and you will notice more if they have been tired or due to lack of sleep (we try not to keep her up beyond her usual bed time)
4. EEG will confirm the disorder
5. easy to treat. early the better
6. no learning problems.
7. no medication side effects (she is on lamictal 25 *twice a day)
8. seizure free for last 1.5 year. medication kicked in a month.

good luck !

Not op, but are absence seizures a form of epilepsy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. frequent staring spells (for dd typical time was in the car seat on way to school).
2. when you call their name or gently touch them on the arm/shoulder,there is a lapse in response time.
3. more frequent and you will notice more if they have been tired or due to lack of sleep (we try not to keep her up beyond her usual bed time)
4. EEG will confirm the disorder
5. easy to treat. early the better
6. no learning problems.
7. no medication side effects (she is on lamictal 25 *twice a day)
8. seizure free for last 1.5 year. medication kicked in a month.

good luck !

Not op, but are absence seizures a form of epilepsy?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. frequent staring spells (for dd typical time was in the car seat on way to school).
2. when you call their name or gently touch them on the arm/shoulder,there is a lapse in response time.
3. more frequent and you will notice more if they have been tired or due to lack of sleep (we try not to keep her up beyond her usual bed time)
4. EEG will confirm the disorder
5. easy to treat. early the better
6. no learning problems.
7. no medication side effects (she is on lamictal 25 *twice a day)
8. seizure free for last 1.5 year. medication kicked in a month.

good luck !

Not op, but are absence seizures a form of epilepsy?

Yes

Follow up question. If seizures aren't related to brain injury for example, did you have a family history of epilepsy?

[Anonymous]

Most epilepsy isn't attributed to familial history. It's also much more common than you'd think. Epilepsy = seizures. There's just a spectrum of seizure intensity and frequency.