Absence Seizures

Absence seizures mainly happen in childhood. During an absence seizure, the child appears to be daydreaming or switching off. However, in an absence seizure, the child cannot be woken up. They are very briefly unconscious and unaware of what is happening around them.

Because most children tend to daydream at times, absences can be very hard to spot. In some cases, children can be having hundreds of absence seizures a day. This prevents them from learning and fully taking part in school or family activities. These children are missing out on tiny pieces of information. For example, they might hear the first part of a sentence but not the end. They may hear the instruction to go out and play, but not when to be back. Because they might then not do what is expected of them, this may be mistaken for poor behaviour. Parents and teachers may lose patience with children if they don’t realise that they are in fact having a seizure.

• First aid for seizures
• Back to generalised seizures