Helping parents and patients navigate neurological diagnoses and treatments, locate helpful resources and find answers to many of the questions we are often asked.
Infantile Spasms – Primary Steps for Primary Care (12/4/2019) - A type of severe seizure, infantile spasms require urgent evaluation and treatment. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of infantile spasms is too often delayed because they may be subtle, go unrecognized, or be misdiagnosed as some other less serious condition (i.e., reflux). When associated with an electroencephalography (EEG) pattern of hypsarrhythmia (Figure 1), this is known as West syndrome, a severe form of early onset/infantile epilepsy.… … Continue reading Infantile Spasms – Primary Steps for Primary Care
Comprehensive Surgical Evaluations for Epilepsy (3/26/2019) - Pediatric epilepsy specialists at Cook Children’s aim to efficiently complete complex surgical evaluations for patients and their families, allowing optimal treatment to begin quickly. Epilepsy syndromes in children differ greatly from those that manifest in adulthood. While adult-onset epilepsy often results from symptomatic causes (i.e., head injury or stroke), pediatric epilepsy can present as isolated seizures that may not recur, as part of a… … Continue reading Comprehensive Surgical Evaluations for Epilepsy
Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum Disorder (1/10/2019) - Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will be referred to receive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services. ABA can provide intensive one-on-one teaching to promote desired behaviors (talking, following directions, self-help skills) and reduce problem behaviors (aggression, property destruction, tantrums). In Texas, most commercial medical insurance plans (including some offered through the healthcare.gov marketplace) will cover these services for children with autism. Though Medicaid… … Continue reading Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Transitioning to Adult Neurology Care (1/9/2019) - While “Primary Steps” articles are often written for primary care providers, some subjects are equally valuable to patients, their families and their speciality providers. Moving from a pediatric care provider to an adult care provider is likely to be very challenging for many patients – particularly those with special needs. Youth with neurologic conditions and their families often feel discouraged to work on long-term… … Continue reading Transitioning to Adult Neurology Care