Worried About 12-Month-old "Zoning Out"

I have a special needs child and we recently discovered she was having absent seizures. Because she also has autism, we did not notice the seizures until they progressed to prolonged "staring/freezing" episodes. Our ped. took it seriously and scheduled an EEG STAT. Of course, my daughter already has many problems so that could be why. Did the 30 sec episode occur before or after you called the ped.? That is the part that concerns me the most. TAKE VIDEO of the incidents and take them with you to the ped. and if you decide to, a pediatric neurologist. Video is an excellent tool in convincing a doctor that you are not "over exaggerating"

Seizures can occur when tired, my daughter seems to have several as she is trying to fall asleep. I am not trying to freak you out, but my point is, if you feel something is wrong...do NOT hesitate to find out for sure. She is your baby and you know her best.

Here's some info: http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/seizure_absence. (You can google absent seizures, look for reputable sites: ending in .edu, .org, .gov; webmd, mayo clinic are very good resources)

We take our daughter to Dr. Schnitzler our of Loyola (Ronald McDonald house - the childrens center in OakBrook Terrace, http://loyolamedicine.org/Patient_Visitor_Info/Locations_....

Good Luck and keep us posted!!!

1st thought was: she's tired.
2nd thought is those seizures that don't look like seizures or autism, but sounds like she's tired.
my daughter same age spaces out when she's tired or just ate.

Do these zone-outs happen only when you guys are out and away from home? The 3 examples you gave were at group settings.

Maybe she is overstimulated and is just blocking out all the mayhem. Keep track of when and where they happen. This log will help you when you talk to your doctor.

Taking her to your ped is a great first step. If you still have a gut feeling that something is wrong, follow up with a pediatric neurologist. They can do very minimally invasive testing (EEGs, CAT scans, etc) to make sure everything is functioning the way it's supposed to in her brain.
I've actually been through this with a much older child and they suspected petit mal seizures, but it turned out we did not find anything. I did, however, make them exhaust all testing before I was satisfied with the answer, just for my own peace of mind.

We see a fantastic neurologist, Dr. David Sperry:
http://www.childrensmemorial.org/findadoc/bios.aspx?id=1884

I hope it is nothing and I hope you get answers that tell you that for sure.

Hugs,
M.