I just found out a week ago that my 4 year has epliepsy and suffers from absence seizures also known as petit mal. At first, I thought he was being stubborn and just ignoring me. We noticed that his behavior changed at home and in school. We were looking at all kinds of possibilities and solutions. But when he started walking into the street and not remembering, then I said something must be wrong. His pediatrician suggested he see a neurologist and take a hearing test. When I told the neurologist how my son would black out, didn't respond to his name and would just walk off sometimes, he told me that he was suffering from a seizure. He scheduled an eeg. I jumped on my computer and did some research. I started really watching my son during these black outs and found that even though they only lasted for about 15 seconds, they were frequent. He was truly out. Sometimes his eyes would just blink. Other times he's tugging on his clothes or doing some repeated movement. I would test him and say things that I knew he would respond to, but there was no response. Now everything made sense. I realized that he couldn't hear me during this time and he would only catch the tail part of me yelling or talking to him. Well, the eeg came back abnormal and he was put on depakene - valproic acid and a MRI was scheduled. He continues to play sports, navigate the computer, play his vsmile, and do the normal kid stuff, but at any given moment he just blacks out. The kids at camp see him "bugging out" but they just wait for him to come back to normal and they continue to play. Some of my family members don't want to believe it because my son is very athletic, outgoing, funny and too smart for his age. When he turned 3, people thought he was turning 5 because of how well he spoke, the things he knew and how well he conducted himself. Other family members just want me to be 100% sure with the diganosis and medication. Depakene can cause liver disease. The years to come will be repeated eeg's and blood work. It has only been a week, but my husband and I and his camp have noticed an improvement. I hate that he has to go through this and sometimes it's painful to see him black out. I'm making sure that I stay consistant w/the medication and that he stays on a schedule for bedtime, even on the weekends. He understands that he's not in trouble and just needs enough sleep. I have two other children a 10 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. I told my daughter not to treat him any differently. She's been very helpful and mature.
Post Edited (QueensMom) : 7/26/2006 11:49:39 AM (GMT-6)