I brought my 4yo son Anthony (5/9/03) to a pedi neurologist last week hoping to find out exactly what is going on with him. We knew he had Sensory Integration issues already (sensory seeker). She confirmed that and says that he has definitely neurological impairment, the root of everything is neurological... (SID, hypotonia, oral motor, apraxia etc). Anyway she thinks he may be having seizure activity and he's having an EEG on Wednesday. If it comes back abnormal, then she said he needs to come in right away, I think for meds. If the EEG is normal, then she said he still has neurological impairment, just that you can't see on the EEG.
He has tics, which the school OT thought was stimming due to his sensory issues. The neuro says it is not stimming but tics. He had LOTS of eye blinking for 8 months or so and then stopped for a month or two. The blinking came back last week, along with a vocal tic. He also does something with his lips too but not as often as the constant blinking/vocal. She did not bring up Tourette's so I assumed it was not suspected. But now I'm starting to think that even if he is having seizures, he may still have Tourette's. I can't really find info on kids with epilepsy having vocal tics. From researching his motor AND vocal tics, it sure looks like Tourette's. So now I am thinking that she didn't bring up Tourette just because it hasn't been a year yet... will be a year in about September (that he's had the blinking) and that is when she said to go back (if the EEG is normal, if it's abnormal he goes back sooner).
I tried to take some video, either by hiding the camera or pretending to play with the camera, telling him I was trying to fix it or something. If he thinks I'm taking pictures, he'll say "Cheese!"
You can see blinking, lips/tongue, and when it's quiet enough (I have 3 kids in my house and a dog!) you can sometimes hear his vocal tic if you turn the speakers up. Here he is:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view¤t=MVI_1274.flv
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view¤t=MVI_1277.flv
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view¤t=MVI_1278.flv
In the middle video, we notice he has some eye rolling. His eyes are sometimes in a different spot when he opens them.
Also, I read something a mom had written about her son, saying "he wasn't having seizures at the time, but WAS having lots of activity".....
Now, based on that, could my son be having *activity* during all this blinking etc? My hubby was saying because the blinking is so frequent, it can't be seizures-- he talks to us throughout all the blinking and seems to know what is going on etc. I see what he is saying but even said to him before, maybe it is activity. Then I read what the other mom said and thought maybe that could be right...? Maybe sometimes he does stare off for a couple seconds (absence seizures) and otherwise, in between is a lot of "activity"? If that sounds stupid, please excuse my ignorance, as I'm new to all this! ;)
If he having activity, would that show on an EEG, or would it have to be an actual seizure? I don't know a lot about this.
Can kids with Epilepsy can have vocal tics???
Any advice??
Thanks so much! :)
Dawn