Autism and Seizures-Silently Seizing: Common, Unrecognized, and Frequently Missed Seizures, and Their Potentially Damaging Impact on Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Speaker: Patricia Polchowsk
Over 50% of individuals with autism also have the additional challenge of a silent seizure disorder. Often these seizures go untreated and unrecognized because they present as behaviors related to autism. This presentation will discuss the types of seizures that people may have, how to gain diagnosis and treatment from medical professionals, and to understand how to tell the difference between behaviors and seizure behaviors.
Patricia Polchowski is a veteran special education teacher and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has worked for 20 years in the field of special education, specializing in children with autism and co-morbid conditions. Her personal experience with her teen son who has autism and was recently diagnosed with a seizure disorder puts her on the front lines of this emerging condition. She works with families who are trying to understand silent seizures and to access information to present to medical professionals. She is frequent presenter in the national and international arenas in the areas of autism spectrum disorders, applied behavior analysis, and seizure disorders.