Recognizing his seizures.

[DylansMommy]

Hello...

My son was just recently diagnosed with epilepsy. He experiences Complex Partial seizures and I am having trouble recognizing them. His teacher was the one to bring the seizures to my attention. Before we had the EEG done, I thought he just had trouble with daydreaming and concentrating.

I really need some advise on how to recognize these seizures. How do I tell the difference between daydreaming and a seizure?

 

[Nakamova]

Hi DylansMommy, welcome to CWE!

Complex Partial seizures are a bit like sleepwalking -- someone can be moving and having a conversation, but they aren't really "awake", and they won't remember what they said or did afterwards. So one way to tell if your son is having Complex Partials, is if what he is saying or doing makes any sense, and if he can remember it afterwards.

It sounds like your son may be having Absence Seizures as well. Those are the ones that are most often mistaken for daydreaming. They come on suddenly, and are usually brief (no more than 30 seconds). If your son is in the middle of saying something, then
his speech will suddenly slow or stop. If he's walking, then he'll suddenly stand transfixed. If he's eating then he might stop with the fork halfway to his mouth. Usually people having absence seizures won't respond if you speak to them.

For the time being, you may want to treat anything that resembles any of the above as a seizure. Being a close observer will help, and eventually you may be able to get a sense of when what's happening with your son is "normal" and when it isn't. Most likely, his daydreaming and concentration issues are all seizure-related, and if those seizures become controlled, you'll see a huge difference.

Is your son being treated with medication right now?

Best,
Nakamova