8 year old sees circles of light, and hears sounds...

[tee233501]

My 8 year old nephew sees Circles of light , moving and hears sounds. He gets really aggitated, has recently shared this with his teacher while crying and says "he needs help". He is uncomfortable talking about this , so at this point I don't have a lot of information on it. Is this a known disorder for children ? Does anyone have any idea what this could be ?

[NocturnalOracle]

Nola0805 is right. The source of these hallucinations ( in that he is hearing and seeing things that are not there) must be discovered, it could be anything from schizophrenia to a type of seizure. Good luck.

[nola0805]

The first and most important appointment is with pediatric neurology - visual hallucinations are very rare in anyone, especially children.  His medical and neurological status need to evaluated.  If he is physically healthy and there is no medical or neurological cause, then he needs to see a child psychiatrist (even more so than a psychologist), as this could be a sign of a beginning thought disorder.  I am glad that he is scheduled to see a child psychologist at least, and I would definitely also see a neurologist.  I know this is scary and he sounds like he is really reaching out - keep in mind that at this point it could be anyone of a number of things.  Good luck.

[tee233501]

Thanks for your response.
He is on no medication, and have had no head trauma that we are aware of. His Physical has not shown anything , but although he has bee talking about some visuals for some time, we have just realized the fact that this is more serious than what we thought, and have not emphasized diagnosis of this condition up to now. We are convinced now that this is not just his  imagination,  he is afraid of them and can't pay attention to what is going on around him when this occurs. I looked up the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome also, and doesn't seem to fit his symptoms. Although he is a pleasant person to interact with (for me, it might be different with his peers), he is reluctant to discuss this, it scares him. I will try to get into his head somehow and find the answers to the questions you posted and others that comes to mind. Will share them when I know more. In the meantime, maybe someone out there has seen this same symptoms and can help us get more informed (I saw a post here from 3 year ago, but did not go far enough to show the outcome).He is scheduld to see a child psychologist and maybe a neurologist in a few weeks.

[RockRose]

Is this recent?  Like,  within the last few months or so?

It sounds like it might be Alice in Wonderland Syndrome,  a symptom of Mononucleosis in children.  

Not exactly though - his description is a little confusing.

Does he perceive his hands or other body parts are huge or small,  and does he perceive other things in the room are much bigger or smaller than expected?

[Niquea3]

Has he ever been evaluated for autism? There's so many characteristics of that just from these few details its hard to say what exactly is going on. When was his last physical? Auditory and visual acuity tests needs to be performed before other test can pin point what's happening to him. Is he on any medication for diabetes or ADD/ADHD? I mean I know its a lot to take in with all the questions but this could help with someone on the discussion board answering you question. Has he had any recent head trauma or what events lead up to the vision and hearing problems if any? I've worked in pediatrics in the past and have seen quite a few children misdiagnosed because either the right questions weren't being asked or the parents didn't have enough information prior to the incident.
Good luck with your nephew and make sure all bases are covered as far as the questions I just asked before you talk to the doctor so they can get a clear understanding of what's going on.