17th June 2005
I have never heard of autism causing epilepsy, or vice versa. Ever. My brother has both. He also has cerebral paulsy. They might be linked in terms of neurological disorders, and one may indicate some sort of neurological vulnerability which is the only way for me to think of to explain that.
My brother's seizures were under control with dilantin until he was 12 and puberty hit.
Once that happened he had one siezure for the first time in a decade and went to the ER and had an EEG and it was indeed a siezure. Has your son had an EEG?
After this things started downhill. He began to have more and more siezures and it got to where in his grandmals he would stop breathing, and as a couple of the seizures lasted several minutes, this was quite serious.
He was on the ketogenic diet since he was 15 and is now and always will be on the atkins as a form of seizure control.
As far as medication goes, I would be very carefull when choosing one.
As a teenager my brother was included to have rages... something I have also seen in other people with autism. THe siezure meds can dramatically influence that plus they can also supress things like the ability for spontaneous talk.
When my brother starts talking a lot it is great, because he is showing interest in the outside world. But it is also a warning sign that he might have a seizure comming because the meds are no longer as effective.
Go to the best neurologist that you can find. If you are in chicago, I have a couple of names.
Good luck
My brother's seizures were under control with dilantin until he was 12 and puberty hit.
Once that happened he had one siezure for the first time in a decade and went to the ER and had an EEG and it was indeed a siezure. Has your son had an EEG?
After this things started downhill. He began to have more and more siezures and it got to where in his grandmals he would stop breathing, and as a couple of the seizures lasted several minutes, this was quite serious.
He was on the ketogenic diet since he was 15 and is now and always will be on the atkins as a form of seizure control.
As far as medication goes, I would be very carefull when choosing one.
As a teenager my brother was included to have rages... something I have also seen in other people with autism. THe siezure meds can dramatically influence that plus they can also supress things like the ability for spontaneous talk.
When my brother starts talking a lot it is great, because he is showing interest in the outside world. But it is also a warning sign that he might have a seizure comming because the meds are no longer as effective.
Go to the best neurologist that you can find. If you are in chicago, I have a couple of names.
Good luck