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How do I find out if my child with challenging behaviour or ASD has epilepsy?Įpilepsy can occur at a higher rate in children with autism than in children in the general population, therefore it is important to check if there are events that might be epileptic seizures. It is less helpful in working out whether children with challenging behaviours or autism have epilepsy.
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An EEG is mostly used to find a clue to the cause of the epilepsy in children where there is no known cause. An abnormal EEG alone, therefore, cannot tell you if your child has epilepsy or not. While around 2-4% of the general healthy population may have an abnormal EEG, around 50% (range 30-80%) of children with autism have an abnormal EEG. This is because an abnormal EEG can occur without a person having epilepsy, and his happens more frequently in children with developmental, behavioural and mental health disorders. In general, an EEG test cannot diagnose or exclude epilepsy, unless the actual event that is of concern for epileptic seizure happens while the EEG is recording. Children with behaviour challenges or autism can find it hard to comply with sitting still and some children with anxiety can find it distressing. The child has to sit still and comply with instructions, keeping the bandage and electrodes on their head for the duration of the test, otherwise the test is not successful. Having the test is not painful, the scalp is rubbed clean under each electrode and some children can find this uncomfortable. What is an EEG?Īn EEG test is where metal discs (called electrodes) are placed on the head, held in place by a head bandage, and these are used to record signals from the brain, with a video recorded of the child at the same time. In most instances, figuring out if these events are epileptic or not can only be done through clinical assessment*, and an EEG test is not needed to arrive at a correct diagnosis. In many instances, these are not epileptic. Children with these conditions can have episodic odd behaviours, fluctuations in levels of engagement in non-preferred activities, or staring.
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Parents and caregivers often wonder whether their child needs an electroencephalogram (EEG) test if they are exhibiting challenging behaviour, or have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).