How to spot absence seizure and daydreaming in your child?

 Aditi, a class 4 student was good at studies. She could grasp things quickly and remember them. Her teachers and parents were quite happy with her progress. However, as the mode of education became virtual, her teacher observed that Aditi was on occasions staring blankly at the screen before returning to normal. Her teacher attributed this change in behaviour to the teaching method from offline to online. Soon, her mother also noticed that Aditi was not paying attention to the class and staring blankly at the wall or screen. Although Aditi would become normal within a few seconds, her parents noted that she could not recall some of the lessons from school and look confused when asked about certain things. Thinking that Aditi is daydreaming and losing interest in her studies, her parents decided to consult a paediatrician. After speaking to Aditi and the parents, the Paediatrician was concerned that Aditi’s

symptoms suggested more than daydreaming but were, in fact, suggestive of absence seizures. An EEG was requested which confirmed the diagnosis and Aditi was commenced on the right medication. Absence seizures are sudden episodes of a short blank out which often affects children between the age of 4 to 14. Kids suffering from absence seizures may stare at blank space and return to a normal level of alertness within few seconds. In most cases, absence seizure is mistaken with daydreaming or lack of attention and there is a high chance of ignoring the symptoms. In some kids, absence seizures may take months or years to get recognised.

Symptoms of absence seizure

• Appearing motionless
• Staring blankly at walls or other objects
• Lip smacking
• Fluttering eyelids
• Abruptly stopping a conversation
• Sudden hand movements

Children suffering from absence seizures may show a lapse in attention for 10-20 seconds.
However, once they become normal, they do not remember the incident. Few children may
face many seizure episodes on a daily basis which may not get recognised. This will affect
the learning and daily activities of kids.

Causes of an absence seizure:

These types of seizures are caused by abnormal electrical impulses from nerve cells in the brain. In many cases, it occurs due to genetic predisposition. Differentiating between absence seizures and daydreaming
There are many key differences between daydreaming and absence seizures. We have listed some of the major ones below:

Absence seizures:

• They occur suddenly, without any warning.
• Unlike daydreaming, this absence of seizures cannot be interrupted.
• An episode of absence seizures ends on its own in about 10-20 seconds.
• The child stares blankly and stop talking in the middle of a speech
• Child’s inability to pay attention for few seconds
• The eyes may turn upwards and eyelids flutter.

Daydreaming:

• This is more often found when the child is bored a lot. For instance, a child daydreams in his long class at school.
• Daydreaming comes on slowly and can be interrupted.
• Daydreaming usually goes till the child is interrupted like the teacher or his friends noticing him and calls for his attention.

Do not mistake absence seizures with other problems:

Correct diagnosis is crucial as absence seizures are often mistaken with other types of seizures. A specialist might suggest an electroencephalogram (EEG) as it is one of the safe and painless ways to diagnose absence seizures. The child will also be given anti-seizure medications.