What are Absence Seizures?

Previously called 'petit mal' seizures, a person may 'shut off', staring blankly into space usually for about 5-10 seconds and be unaware of what's happening around them.

Then they’ll snap back, so these episodes may not even be noticed.

These seizures may happen many times a day and put the person in a brief unresponsive, daydream-like state, but they are in fact not conscious.

One of the main problems with absence seizures is that because the person appears to be daydreaming, it may seem that they not paying attention. They may also find it hard to learn because they miss information.

Symptoms are not always clear, however some of the signs can include:

• Stare into space and not respond to anything.
• Stop talking in the middle of a sentence
• Flutter their eyelids, fidget with their hands, or walk around aimlessly.

Atypical Absence Seizures

These atypical seizures do not start or finish as abruptly as typical absence seizures. The seizures usually last longer and may have additional features such as changes in muscle tone. These changes may result in small movements, such as a slight nodding of the head or a chewing action and the young person may continue to respond to their surroundings. These atypical absence seizures are often associated with other seizure types or learning disabilities.