Petite Mal Seizures and Learning Difficulties

The teacher cannot diagnose what they "think" might be wrong with a child. That is against the law and ethics of a teacher. We are not doctors. And just because she is "brand new" doesn't mean she doesn't have the experience to notice that something is wrong with the child. The child needs to be seen by an actual doctor. I would have the teacher write down her observations of the child to take with you to the doctor.

My daughter had petite mal seizures all her life but docs never believed me.She didn't have problems with school work but her friends did tease her about being "spacey".She had her first grand mal seizure in her 20's and is now on Lamectin.She has had 2 children and has had a few adjustments to her dose but is doing well.

Hi K.,

Here are a couple of online epilepsy support groups that can answer a lot of your questions.

http://boards.webmd.com/webx?14@@.5987f425

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/

Also check out the epilepsy foundation at:

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/

What you have read is true, my daughter had absence seizures and then added on the 'grand mal' now commonly called tonic/clonic. A lot of teachers do not recognise seizures as they are only looking for the tonic/clonic. The entire school needs to be educated on seizure first aid. We had to educate my daughters school when she started going there. She is 18 now and in her 5th yr of high school because of problems with her seizures.

If an epilepsy journal hasn't been started yet, get one going. A notebook will do, nothing fancy. Write down everything in there. Her activities, how much sleep she gets, what she eats and drinks, tv/computer/video game time, if she's on meds - dose and times. If she has a seizure, log what she does prior to, during, and after. what it looks like and how long each phase lasts. All this can be a pain, but it will help you and the dr see what's going on.

Is this your grand daughter you are speaking of? If she has not been to a neurologist yet, then it's time to get her there. An EEG and MRI will be done to see what is going on. It's a merry go round on meds to see what will work to control them, so hang on for the ride. My daughter has been diagnosed for 4 yrs now and still has seizures. If the neuro y'all see isn't doing what you think he/she should be doing for the child, find another one. Second, third, even fourth opinions are quite common.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me ____@____.com put mamasource in the subject line so I don't delete. Good luck!!

T.

Sorry to hear that your daughter has difficulties learning. My question to you is, has she been diagnosed with anything in particular? My second question is, has she been evaluated by your school district? The ARD meeting come at a yr of the child/student having their evaluation. If your daughter had all this then you know that AR D's are done annually.

Best of luck,
Elisa M

K.,
Just to clarify "if she had more experience, she might have known what it was" is an unfair statement to be making. At this age many different factors play a role i.e., genetics, eating habits, home situations, birth problems, drug use while pregnant. If we, I mean teachers, knew every diagnosis we would be doctors and not teachers. I have 5 children of my own and took my own daughter to SEVERAL (neurologist, opthamologist, cardiologist, phychologist, had MRI's done on her) doctors to find out what was going on with her. We saw every kind of doctor known and they still could not figure out what her situation was, so this has nothing to do with her "expereince" as a teacher. As a teacher we can usually recognize there is something "wrong", but our hands are tied as to what we can do. We bounce ideas off other more "experienced" teachers to help us find other avenues to take when applicable. They usually do not start getting concerned with children's learning disabilities until they get a little older.

However, with that being said, you can always ask for testing to be done. Contact the counselor at her school. Teachers are not allowed to do anything until a parent requests it. Then a team usually works together to come up for a plan for your child. It is a long process that takes a lot of time and paperwork, so do not expect quick answers. There are legalities involved as well. Definitely seek help if you are that truly concerned.

I am sorry if this sounds a little harsh, but it upsets me when parents expect teachers to have ALL the answers when they do not know all the facts themselves. We have rules and regulations that we have to follow for protocol. We get a glimpse into every childs life and do the best we can with what we have to work with and what parents disclose to us. We want ALL students to be successful. Afterall, our job is to teach. When did TEACHER=DOCTOR?

M.

My son spaced out like that and his grades suffered. He was diagnosed with epilepsy and put on medication. He stopped spacing out, his grades improved, and he participated in classes and family things again. It was an amazing difference.
We didn't have any issues with a learning drag. We also didn't need to do an ARD. I had a meeting with the teacher, school counselor, and principal. I explained he had epilepsy, was on medication, and I needed their help in watching him to see how he was doing on the meds. They all were very understanding and cooperative. I would say no ARD is needed if your child goes on the meds.

Take your kiddo to a specialist and explain what is going on, that you think it might be seizures, and that you want to know for sure. It's important to get a proper diagnosis quickly.
Good luck, and God bless.

We had the same symptoms with our daughter at this same age. Our pedi did think it was petit mal seizures but it had to be diagnosed with an EEG--sounds scary, but is just wires connected to her head with a toothpaste textured gel. The toughest part was to keep her awake the night before the test (meant I had to drive in without sleep too!) The EEG can only diagnose if she has a seizure during the test, which they do try to provoke with lack of sleep, flashing lights, etc. We kept seeing symptoms but took 5 EEGs over several years. You need to start with your pedi, and ask for a referral to a pedi-neurologist for an EEG.

The teacher is giving the symptoms. A doctor needs to make the diagnose. I wouldn't want a Teacher to give diagnoses. Start with the Dr to check any physical/medical problems. When you know for sure what is going on, then the school and you will know what direction to take or educational accomadations that are needed with the students given "disability". You can call an ARD anytime, but it is about the education that is needed for that student. Now the school can do an evaluation done by a school psychologist or diagnostician with regards to the learning difficulties. Personally, I would want the Dr done first because if this is Epilepsy it is a medical condition, and it can affect the students learning.

Yes, if I were you, I would have an ARD. My niece's daughter has epilepsy, and her petit mall seizures have definitely interfered with her learning. The school needs to be aware, and needs to take steps to make sure she is getting all the info she needs. She cannot process info if she is having a seizure, and if she is taking a quiz or test, and the teacher doesn't notice her petit malls, she will not do well. For a while my niece's girl had to have all tests done orally by someone familiar with epilepsy. If she took a written test, she would have petit malls and do horribly. Also, she had help from a resource teacher to catch her up on info missed due to her seizures.

Hopefully the meds will get rid of the seizures. It may take some time and trying of various meds. Til then, she should have accocmodations in place in her classroom.

Check into the ketogenic diet. You can look it up on the Internet. It stopped seizures in my daughter that started at the age of 5 years old after her 4 year immunization shots. The diet is the best way to treat seizures. The medicine is horrible. Good luck

G. powers

Please don't just rely on the internet. Get her into a specialist immediately---then worry about school.

Good luck,
DH

You need to meet with your Dr first, and then have a meeting with the school. She definitely should have adjustments. You are not demanding anything out of the ordinary.

Good Luck and sorry I couldn't help more.

A few years ago, my grandson was suffering from seizures. I saw a program about a child who kept having seizures and they discovered that he didn't have enough fat in his diet. You can read about the diet by searching "Ketogenic Diet" on Yahoo. My daughter was always on a diet and had her son eating the same stuff. Children need more fat in their diet for the brain to develop normally. In the movie, the family was about to allow the doctors to do brain surgery until they heard about this diet. It cured him. Here is the information about the movie. "First Do No Harm" You may be able to rent it. It is worth watching. http://www.medindia.net/medical-themes/Movies/english/fir... It will open your eyes.

Just to clarify... do you know for sure that your child is having seizures? If not, I would get her seen by a neurologist and have an EEG done to find out for sure, then proceed.

I don't know much about the petit mal seizures; but I am assuming that it is probably because she is not hearing all of the lessons if she is having quite a number of seizures daily. Medication may help as may having an ARD.
My hubby has epilepsy, tonic/clonic partial seizures but I got into this rather late - after his neurologist found meds that control it completely. So, even tho his seizures are worse than petit mall; I have not ever seen one. All the years with them have left him with an inability to control his body temperature now (since he is older) and he does have learning some disabilities
My advice would be to get her to a pediatric neurologist asap. For advice, the Epilepsy Foundation has a website and with that an advice blog. There are people on that site who would know the answers to your questions!

Know this - all epileptics are NOT the same. My husband is a functioning member of society. He is very intelligent in some areas and not so in others (especially math). I have known of people with epilepsy who have been lawyers, teachers and who are highly successful people.

The best piece of advice I have? Whenever you find out from the neurologist the severity of her problems; talk to your daughter! Explain what is happening and what is taking place. Don't leave her in the dark, just knowing something is wrong but not what.

Much luck to you.