Gelastic seizures advice

[Heather2010]

hi I’m a foster carer to a 2yr old boy who we have had since birth,who has a lot of underlying health issues . He suffers from a lot of issues with his gut which gives him lots of loose stools and vomiting ,he’s also had absence like episodes and a lot of unusual and inappropriate laughing with no apparent cause he’s not engaging with anything or anyone at the time . We notice that when he has the really high energy laughing it’s before he becomes unwell . I’ve researched this online and came across articles and videos on Gelastic seizures and it seems to relate a lot to him . He has had an mri scan and a 24hr eeg but they say both were normal but from what I’ve read it says even although that’s the case it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it . Regarding the eeg he had done he was so disregulated that some of the electrodes came off his head . Although he hasn’t had a formal diagnosis yet he definitely fits the autism spectrum profile . Some of the research online says that autistic children can be prone to Gelastic seizures. Any advice would be welcome as I’m at my wits end as this little boy has global developmental delay and is non verbal so he has a lot going on and we just want to do our best for him

[EpilepsyAction1 Partner Epilepsy Action]

Thank you for your comment. It sounds like you are doing all the right things by ensuring he has tests and speaking to medical professionals. As you said in your comment, having a normal MRI or EEG doesn’t have to mean that someone doesn’t have epilepsy. I wonder if you would be happy to contact a member of our helpline team on 0808 800 5050. We would be happy to discuss this with you in a little more detail.

Kind Regards

Rosie