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My 4 yo son- trying to figure out Epilepsy vs Tourette..??

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&current=MVI_1274.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view&current=MVI_1277.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view&current=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

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Avatar universal
Thank you for the info. The dr did mention a possible MRI later, and if that will give more answers I'll definitely look into it.

He does the ticcing so often, and he can answer me when he is making all the noise etc so I'm thinking it can't all be seizures, but that's what I'm wondering, if there is activity going on. I really have no idea though. I'm hoping to find out about the EEG results on Monday. They said the dr usually goes over to read them on weekends.
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Avatar universal
Oops-- By the way my son is doing well.  We treat his seizures with medicine.
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Avatar universal
Sounds a lot like my 6 year old.  At 4 years old he started half hiccuping (Quick intake of air) thus the EEG showing seizure activity.  I looked at a tape I made to catch the hiccup before diagnosis and I can clearly see him spacing out - not answering my questions, but acknowledging me by looking over (absence seizures).  He had developemental delays so I did not catch it at the time.  Although the delays in speech and understanding and processing information warranted getting an MRI which made everything clear.  I had notes from the pre-school teacher whom observed the same behavior.
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Avatar universal
Thank you very much, medco :) I appreciate it.

He had his EEG today so now I just wait (not so patiently) for the dr to read it and let me know.
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Avatar universal
sorry, forgot to add - usually atypical absense seizures are diagnosed with an EEG. while in most cases of epilepsy people have to have an actual seizure episode while having the EEG, with atypical absense seizures, even the normal brain pattern is somewhat different. vocal tics are more characteristic of tourettes syndrome. although many people have both tourettes and epilepsy.
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Avatar universal
those sound, and look, like atypical absence seizures. i am not as familiar with tourettes so I can't comment on that part. some people have these blinking moments hundreds of times a day. people with atypical absense seizures are sometimes responsive during the blinking moments.
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Avatar universal
ok apparently it won't let me post those links. Something keeps changing part of them.

Try this instead?? Copy and paste this:

http://www.geocities.com/ives6797/anthonyvids.html
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Avatar universal
oops, links don't work... try these instead..

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view&current=MVI_1274.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view&current=MVI_1277.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ives6797/?action=view&current=MVI_1278.flv
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