Re: Catatonic Autism/Seizures

[Guest guest]

Catatonia has been a psychological diagnosis for years. It is not a typical part of autism. This child must just have both of them. One is not related to the other. I am a psych nurse and have had patients who were catatnic and they would not move for hours and just stare. This is very different from someone who just stares for a brief time. Catatonic patients are almost statue like. Very odd condition and treated usually as in -partient psych. So I would not expect to see it with autism anymore then the typical person. It is just that this person has both

in Austin

-----Original Message-----From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy [mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of and Trina ShermanSent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 6:50 AMTo: Texas-Autism-Advocacy Subject: Catatonic Autism/Seizures

Hello all,Although a case of staring off and not responding could be a seizure I have also seen this recently in a child with Autism who has been diagnosed with catatonia. I had never heard of Catatonic Autism until this happened to my friend but it is something we should all be cognizant of. In my research it looked like this showed up most often during puberty and was more common than I thought. If you notice a child who seems to "freeze up" I'd consider this as a possibility and get him to a psychiatrist. This teenager of whom I am speaking actually stopped being able to self initiate even simple things like going to the bathroom or feeding himself so it seems to progress without treatment. Has anyone ever heard of this disorder in Autism? I'd appreciate any information anyone else might come across. Thanks.Trina

[Guest guest]

The boy I am referring to has just developed catatonic symptoms recently

and had not been diagnosed as Catatonic before. His is not statue like

but was beginning to be more so and was losing skills fast. His mother

is a MD and she recently brought this to my attention. There is an

interesting research article here...

http://www.researchautism.net/asditem.ikml?print & ra=45 & infolevel=4 & t=3

and a book about Catatonia and Autism here....

http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/707498/description#des\

cription

that you may find interesting. It concerns me because this child is very

high functioning although non verbal and just recently started to freeze

up quite unexpectedly. I know seizures can surface with Autism in

puberty if you are prone, so I just wonder if Catatonia is also more

likely to surface? I'd love to see more research on this.

Trina

Levine wrote:

>

> Catatonia has been a psychological diagnosis for years. It is not a

> typical part of autism. This child must just have both of them. One

> is not related to the other. I am a psych nurse and have had patients

> who were catatnic and they would not move for hours and just stare.

> This is very different from someone who just stares for a brief time.

> Catatonic patients are almost statue like. Very odd condition and

> treated usually as in -partient psych. So I would not expect to see

> it with autism anymore then the typical person. It is just that this

> person has both

> in Austin

>

> * Catatonic Autism/Seizures

>

> Hello all,

> Although a case of staring off and not responding could be a

> seizure I

> have also seen this recently in a child with Autism who has been

> diagnosed with catatonia. I had never heard of Catatonic Autism until

> this happened to my friend but it is something we should all be

> cognizant of. In my research it looked like this showed up most often

> during puberty and was more common than I thought. If you notice a

> child

> who seems to " freeze up " I'd consider this as a possibility and

> get him

> to a psychiatrist. This teenager of whom I am speaking actually

> stopped

> being able to self initiate even simple things like going to the

> bathroom or feeding himself so it seems to progress without

> treatment.

> Has anyone ever heard of this disorder in Autism? I'd appreciate any

> information anyone else might come across. Thanks.

> Trina

>

>