We finally started to realize what was happening after a voice lesson in early March. Her voice teacher came out to my car after the lesson, and told me with great concern that Rachel had become non-responsive during the lesson. I replied that we had heard about that happening at school, but that we didn’t know what to think. When we got home, we made an appointment for the doctor the next day.

Rachel’s pediatrician gave her an initial diagnosis of Absence Seizures. These are 15-20 second seizures that can often be mistaken for daydreaming. This diagnosis made a lot of sense to us, because the most common theme from all the years of parent-teacher conferences had been “Rachel needs to focus more.” The issue had never concerned us much, as Rachel is a very creative and imaginative girl. She had always been able to focus enough to do well at school and her activities. However, hearing that there might be a physical cause to her spacing out was somewhat comforting. Also comforting was reading that kids often outgrow Absence Seizures when they leave adolescence.

The pediatrician referred us to Dr. Cheyette, a neurologist in Redwood City. In the mean time, Rachel got ready for the County Science Fair.