Here's a phrase many of you will recognize: ABSENT SEIZURE. Typically, this type of seizure lasts between 10 and 30 seconds. The person, most often a child aged 5 to 15, abruptly stops whatever he's doing (talking, walking) and appears to "stare into space" or look out the corner of their eyes. Absence seizures rarely cause a true convulsion, and despite briefly losing consciousness, the person recovers fully with no lingering confusion or other ill effects. These "spells" may occur infrequently or several times per hour. In children, absence seizures may interfere with learning and are often misinterpreted as impertinence or inattention.
So we've long suffered from these "Spells" since age 2. We fortunately have never gone into a full blow, classic Grand Mal Seizure like any children on the ASD spectrum, but I'm always conscience. Last week, as we approached our 25th session of Neurofeedback, Khalil had a day where he was completely FOGGY, incoherent and blurting out miscellaneous unrelated statements. He also urinated on himself, and was complaining of neck/head pain. I immediately called his Neurologist and The Drake Institute to discern the cause of such brain fog. It was quickly decided to go to the ER, where we ruled out Meningitis and other infections. The general conscensus was that Khalil may have had a mild seizure while at school, and we were witnessing the "recovery" stage.
This is clearly something that gnawed at my soul. How could NO ONE have seen him have a seizure? This is precisely why we fought LAUSD to get a one-to-one aide for him. WTH?
Long story short -- after probing & turning every stone (and person's ear that I could), I found out the trigger!! Wait for it...
My son, who has a long documented Gluten Free/Casein/Soy free diet, was fed... wait for it... LASAGNE at school for lunch because the usual person was on sick leave.
Fury doesn't begin to describe my mood. After truly reprimanding everyone involved, I was relieved to know that this was the most likely reason why King was so disoriented. Gluten for King is like giving him Opium or Marijuana. He literally gets "high & loopy". To add insult, they gave him CHEESY (casein) pasta, which messed his entire gut up, and went straight to his head (thus the pee pee incident and hang-over headache).
Mommy Warriors - PLEASE be aware of everything that goes on with your child when they are NOT in your presence. Make sure the IEP team and anybody associated with your child is in fact... A TEAM. My son should never have been fed that food, and we would not have spent hours in the ER poking & prodding his little body away.
For more information on the affects of GLUTEN & CASEIN on children with ASD, please visit: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/gluten-free-casein-free-diets-for-autism
