UPDATE: Worried About Daughter's Behavior

[wilelm]

Sorry, the update is below--response #15.
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Miriam is 3 1/2. For at least a couple of months now, she has periods where she kind of zones out and starts jabbering nonsense. Sometimes she smiles while doing it. Sometimes it's only for a short period of time, and other times it goes on for about a minute. It's like she's talking to someone we can't see who doesn't speak English.

It's difficult to get her attention, and as she's been doing it more often in the last few days, it's taking longer to be able to get her to come out of it.

At first I thought maybe she was doing it for attention, but when she first looks at you when you're trying to get her attention, her eyes are totally blank--she's obviously not faking it. We'll smile at her and ask her who she's talking to, and she just looks through us and doesn't answer, then goes back to what she was doing. Sometimes she'll start jabbering again, and other times she'll start talking normally again, as if nothing happened. The jabbering is done in a quiet voice, under her breath.

This behavior is really freaking us out. The first few times it happened it was weird, but not scary. Now it's getting kind of scary, and she's started doing it multiple times a day.

I'm going to call her doctor tomorrow and discuss it with her, but I'm wondering if anybody has any insight. Is this normal for a child her age? Do you know a child who does/has done this? Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.


Sheila

[Lovingliv]

Hi Sheila,

FWIW I remember having an imaginary friend when I was 3ish. His name was Buoy and he "was" the picture of a young indian boy who hung on my wall. I still have the picture! I remember communicating with him in a language no one else could understand... so it was just between me and him. Could this be what your daughter is doing?
Big hugs Mama,,,,keep us updated!

[wilelm]

Rachel,

Even though I said it was like she was talking to somebody we couldn't see who didn't speak English, the thought of an imaginary friend never even occured to me. I guess I thought it was an older kid thing. I hope you're right!

Sheila

[jennifer13]

It sounds like it could be a seizure. Before you panic, seizures in childhood are not uncommon and are often outgrown. Definitely call your doctor in the morning.

I'm not a doctor, I've just recently learned a lot about it. So that's just my two cents. Keep us posted!

Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03
and Leah 3/24/05

[jasabo]

I would definitely call your ped. My ds had a few similar episodes about a year ago - he would completely zone out, sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes longer. He'd look straight past me, not respond and a few times got up and walked away. Once we were in a restaurant and he got up from the table and wandered toward the door almost like he was sleep walking. It was really creepy. I thought they were seizures and was going to bring him in to see a friend of the family who's a neurologist, but then they stopped so I never brought him in. Also, I mentioned it to my MIL and she told me that her daughter (dh's sister) had similar episodes as a toddler and outgrew them. You might check with your parents and dh's parents to see if any of their kids had similar episodes, just so you'd know if there was a family history.

Anyway, my understanding from my research was that they'd likely just monitor the seizures, unless they were life threatening, but with toddlers, you don't have to worry about a seizure while driving, etc. There are meds, but my ds's episodes were minor enough that I wouldn't have given them unless things got worse.

At any rate, I'd definitely check with your ped tomorrow and follow up with a neurologist if you and the ped think it's necessary. Also, keep a notebook of the episodes - what time they happen, how long they last, ds's behavoir during the episode and also right afterwards (is she sleepy, quiet, etc).

Good luck!

[urquie]

no idea what it could be, but you might try taking some video of it happening so you can show your doctor.

[elephantmeg]

(NAK) You also should think about/write in the notesbook what was going on before (like a 1/2 hr or so) the episodes. Flashing lights are notorious for setting off seizures (not that they definitely are, but they sound like they could be. And I second the reccomendation for asking family members if anyone had seizure disorders

[Fairy]

I, too, had four imaginary brothers and sisters that I used to talk to all the time who all looked suspiciously like muppets. They wouldn't talk back to me, I would talk in their voice back to me, so I was having a conversation with myslef in five very different voices, including my own. Apparently, this started before I can remember and lasted all the way up to later childhood, maybe age 10 or so, and I remember it very well. However, I never zoned into my own world or stared blankly, etc. Like a previous poster, alot of what you describe sounds alot like imaginary friend stuff, but there are elements that definitely are not, so yes, definitely call your ped. Hope it all turns out ok.

-- Fairy

ps -- If it is an imaginary friend, I recommend not discouraging them, but "manage" boundaries with them -- like don't set a place at the dinner table. My 2 cents.

[jennifer13]

Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03
and Leah 3/24/05

[jennifer13]

Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03
and Leah 3/24/05

[jermak]

My dd has had imaginery friends and pets since about age 2 (now she's 6 1/2 and they only visit on an occassion). However, she's never "zoned out" when playing with them, rather it's clear to see she's talking to someone who isn't there. I'm glad to hear you're going to talk to your ped.! Good luck

[jermak]

My dd has had imaginery friends and pets since about age 2 (now she's 6 1/2 and they only visit on an occassion). However, she's never "zoned out" when playing with them, rather it's clear to see she's talking to someone who isn't there. I'm glad to hear you're going to talk to your ped.! Good luck

[wilelm]

Thanks for asking! I've been very frustrated trying to talk to somebody in the peds office. They either don't answer, or I'm on hold on their automated system for long periods of time and I have to get off for some reason and call back, or in one case, I was on hold for about 10 minutes and then got hung-up on. I called back and pushed the button for the receptionist rather than the nurse, but they didn't pick up. I've tried to call numerous times over the past 2 days and never been able to get through. And they don't have an answering machine. It's weird, and it's never happened before.

In the meantime, going on the assumption that she's doing it for attention, I've been going out of my way to pay extra attention to her and do special things with her when Gabriel is down for a nap, and she's only done it twice in the last 2 days, both for only a short time.

I do freelance work from home, and have had quite a few projects lately, which require me to be on the computer. I work as much as I can when they're napping and after they're in bed at night, but I have to work some during the day as well, as I work with tight deadlines. I think she's feeling very ignored. I'm feeling very guilty about it, and to make things worse, I just started a new project yesterday. I really think I need to look into a mother's helper if the freelance work continues to come in regularly. The next door neighbors also just moved in, and they have 2 little girls that are Miriam's age, and she's been playing with them a lot, which helps.

I'm going to try to get a hold of the ped again on Monday and run it by her.

Thanks for the posts and advice!

Sheila

[megs4413]

I hope it's just an imaginary friend but here's my other thoughts:

1) the seizures sound like a possibility--the best thing to do here is try to get it on video tape and just after it occurs (or during....) write down what she was doing directly before, what she did during, and what she did after....Have you asked her after she "comes out of it" if she remembers what happened? That could give you a big clue as to whether it's an imaginary friend or something more...

2) it could be a more rare form of narcolepsy, though this seems less possible.

I would definitely go into the ped. Start keeping a log of occurrences not just mentally, but really write each instance down with date and time and try to include as many details as possible. The more digging you do before you go to the ped, the better. I have never heard of "staring seizures" that involved the child speaking incoherently, but i am sure it's possible...Does she sleep walk/talk? Has she ever had night terrors? I hope you find an answer and I hope the ped gets to you soon! My thoughts are with you and DD!!!

[wilelm]

I haven't written anything down yet, but I did tape a short episode of it the other day, and she did it for a few seconds when our friends were over recently. My friend says her son has never done anything like that, and she doesn't know anyone whose child has.

It usually happens when she's eating. And she'll continue to eat as she stares off and talks and smiles to herself. I'll ask her who she was talking to, and she'll just stare right through me and not answer.

She's never sleepwalked, but my husband used to do it a lot as a child. She mumbles in her sleep sometimes, but it's English. She's been waking up at night and getting in bed with us almost every night for a while now, maybe a month--I guess she could be having night terrors, but she's never crying or upset, she just comes in and climbs in bed with us. The other morning she came into our room and got in bed with us. We were trying to get back to sleep, and she was lying there speaking nonsense.

I'm definitely going to call the ped's office again Monday, and I'll just sit on hold no matter how long it takes or what I have to do while I'm holding.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Sheila

[megs4413]

I'm so sorry, Sheila. It's clear that this has you terrified. I'm so sorry you're going through this. I know that the doc will be able to give you more answers.

It is interesting that it occurs frequently when she eats. It sounds less and less like epilepsy to me. It would be hard to imagine that she could continue eating when she is having a seizure. Possible...but not something I've heard of before. Does she remember being "absent"? I think i asked you that before....I would doubt that she is going through night terrors if you haven't noticed anything.

In the meantime, I would try to gauge whether she remembers the incidents or not. Your doc will probably want to know if she really seems to be losing consciousness. It's wonderful that you got some of it on tape! that will be helpful to a neurologist if it comes to that. Make sure you mention the tape to your ped and the fact that it occurs frequently while eating. They'll want to know that, too. I hope you get some answers, soon. Big hugs to you and your family!

[Queensgirl]

Since you posted that it occurs when or right after she eats, I wondered if it could be related to food (similar to an allergic reaction).

I recently saw a program about medical misdiagnosis and the little boy featured had similar episodes. The mom had a very difficult time getting answers from peds & specialists until she videotaped his episodes. It took several years before he was correctly diagnosed with celiac disease. (don't mean to alarm you with that info)

You've gotten some great suggestions (keeping a log, taping her behavior, etc); hopefully your doctor will give you some answers & put your mind at ease.

Wishing you the best.

[wilelm]

Well, Miriam is having an EEG tomorrow. I sent her ped the videos I had taken, one where Miriam visibly blinks hard and shakes her head before beginning to talk to me again. The ped is pretty sure she's having seizures.

I looked up seizures online and am pretty sure she's having petit mal seizures. She meets every symptom listed. As one poster mentioned, since it seemed to be happening most when she ate, I looked up symptoms for celiac's, and she doesn't meet those. After reading more about seizures, and paying more attention, I realized that she has them pretty regularly, and not just when she's eating.

I'm praying that they're only petit mal seizures--treatable and usually outgrown with no lasting affects. We won't have results for a few days.

Does anybody else have experience with petit mal seizures?


Sheila

[brittone2]

Thinking of you and your DD and hoping you get some answers. Hopefully it will be something she outgrows.

I'm sure it is scary waiting for the EEG, etc. but hopefully you'll feel better knowing she's getting help.

Hugs.

[Jenn98]

Big (((HUGS))) to you and your family. I'm sorry I don't have anything to offer but support - no experience with this. I'm sure it must be very scary. Keep us posted. I'm sure we will all be thinking of you and your DD.

[Wife_and_mommy]

Also sending hugs and comforting thoughts your way. I have no expe. though.


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[Saccade]

I'm a seizure doctor. PM me if you have any general questions (I can't give specific medical advice over the internet, though) or if you need a referral to someone in your area. Big hugs to you and Miriam.

ETA: Sorry I didn't see this thrad earlier! I agree with PP's suggestions to video them if you can -- this can help so much!

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[wilelm]

Just read your message and went to PM you, but your profile is disabled. You can e-mail me at [email protected], and when I get your message I'll respond from my "real" e-mail address.

Thanks!

Sheila

[Fairy]

Was hoping it wouldn't be seizures. I have nothing to offer, here. Just hoping for the best for you and sending you good luck.

-- Fairy

[Saccade]

Sorry about that! I didn't know it was off. I'll email.

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[megs4413]

Sheila, i'm late seeing this, but I suffer from petit mal seizures. We found out when i was 16 and have somewhat outgrown them now (though not in pregnancy...) feel free to PM me.

[August Mom]

Sheila, I hope everything's okay. I'm thinking about you and Miriam.