Absences or 'La-La Land' ??

[AlysWho]

I've had some excellent info from putting up threads on here so here goes another one..

DD is 13yrs has ASD, LD and also epilepsy. She's had all types of seizures since she was 5yrs, but they're infrequent enough that I've not put her on meds.

Having had a recent chat with a new consultant, who is suprisingly clued up and v helpful, I'm trying to work out if she's having Absences.

Trouble is that as someone on the spectrum, she has a tendency to be in a different world, and as she has LD too, its difficult to get her to explain how she's 'feeling'.

She often goes into 'la-la' land as we call it, ie she trances out and her eyes are fixed, she doesn't respond to us calling her name (for seconds or minutes). Absences as I understand them are -'the child appears to be daydreaming or switching off. However, in an absence seizure, the child cannot be woken up. They are very briefly unconscious and unaware of what is happening around them.'

How do I tell this apart from la-la land? I am doing some filming to show pead when we go back, but still..

Peadiatrician's concerns are that she's missing out on chunks of learning. Fair enough, but due to her dx, she has 1:1 or 2:1 support and a need for contstant repetition and revisiting. In fact, what she loves the best in this world is repetition! So is she really at risk of 'missing out' given this learning style anyway?

As you've probably picked up, I'm not keen to go down the meds route unless necessary, given that she is not really able to explain how she feels, so any negative side effects could manifest in BIG PROBLEMS behaviourly/ anxiety issues etc.

So, a long post I know but if anyones got any brilliant key ways to spot an absence from a daydream, that'd be great!

Thanx for reading..

Hope someone comes along with some answers. I had 'absences' - petit mal - as a child, but grew out of them. It was school and friends that noticed.
Once in a test i was half way through writing my name at the top of the paper and my pen didn't leave the page, but i didn't write any more. I only 'returned' at the end of the test. The teacher knew i would have done well in the test so started to query things.
Another time i started to walk out into a road, a friend pulled me back but said it looked like my legs were still walking, but oblivious to all the shouting.
I guess i'm saying that the absences happened in different situations. So unless there is some kind of trigger, so that you get a warning as to the absence, are you going to be there to spot/record it. 3rd party observation from a reliable source (adult) might help. Has the LSA made any comment as to the absences?

It can definitely be both. ds has absence seizures dx'd by eeg. They last for 5-10 secs but he also has times when he goes into an asd daydream -these last longer and you can pull him out of them with a bit of persistence.

Aunt,thanks for your post, its always great to hear first hand! So much of what I have to decide feels like such a stab in the dark sometimes, its really helpful to hear from others experiences..
Did you take meds? If so do you remember how they made you feel? We've been advised to try carbamazepine. As I said in my OP, my daughter wouldnt necessarily be able to tell me of any side effects, however simple, such as sleepiness, headaches, tummyaches..

School staff say pretty much the same as me, could be could not be, not sure..

TheCrunch You got dx by eeg, thats great- so often those tests can amount to nothing. DD wont sit still for eeg unfortunately, but we might consider MRI under sedation, which accoding to latest pead still gives an accurate reading.

Problem is Alys - I have no idea. I didn't really have any need for my medical history knowledge until i had children - by which point my mum had advanced alzheimers - so would say 'yes' to anything!
On a positive note, there have been no witnessed or memorable incidents since late teens - so it is definitely something that can be grown out of.
La La land is however, a place that can always be found!

I know Aunt.. La-La Land is THE BEST, if I had the money I'd build a castle there, take all the people and things we want and need, and live happily ever after..x