New-Onset Seizure Clinic
If your child experiences a seizure for the first time, specialists in the New-Onset Seizure Clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles can help. Our clinic is one of the only clinics of its kind on the West Coast. We offer timely diagnoses and advanced treatments.
Quick Access to Pediatric Seizure Care and Expertise
Seizures are frightening, especially when a child has never experienced one before. We work to see patients within days of when a seizure is first identified. This means less worry for families as they face the uncertainty of not knowing what caused the seizure, or if it will happen again.
At Children’s Hospital, we aim to see children within 7 to 10 days of the first seizure. This timeframe is quicker than any other medical center in California. We established this rapid timeline so that we can make a diagnosis and treat your child more efficiently and effectively.
New-Onset Seizure Clinic: Why Choose Us
We are a Level 4 Epilepsy Center, the highest certification available from the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. To achieve this recognition, epilepsy centers must have excellent outcomes, see a high volume of patients and offer the most advanced diagnostic tools.
Children who come to our New-Onset Seizure Clinic benefit from:
- Leading-edge diagnostic tools: Every patient in the New-Onset Seizure Clinic undergoes an electroencephalogram (EEG). This test records brain wave activity to help evaluate the cause of the seizure. If further evaluation and care is necessary, patients have access to the 3T MRI, functional MRI, PET and SPECT scans, and more through our Epilepsy Clinic and Epilepsy Monitoring Unit.
- Personalized care from a team of experts: Because children’s brains are still developing, it’s essential to receive services from a specialist who understands pediatric neurology. Our expert nurse practitioners provide care and refers patients to specialists Board-certified in epilepsy, neurology, pediatric neurology and neurophysiology when necessary. This means your child has access to experts trained in understanding children’s growing brains.
- Patient and parent education: We arm you and your child with the necessary tools to manage a potential second seizure at home. These tools may include medication or first-aid techniques specific to seizures. However, a significant portion of children in our unique New-Onset Seizure Clinic receive appropriate medication during their visit and do not experience a second seizure.
- Ongoing seizure management: When children do experience ongoing seizures, the experts in our Epilepsy Clinic take over. They develop and manage treatment plans to help children with epilepsy live healthier lives.
Signs of Seizures in Children
Seizures occur when the brain fires abnormal electrical signals. As a result, children may experience sudden but temporary changes in movement or behavior.
Seizures may cause many different symptoms, such as:
- Tremors or jerking movements
- Temporary loss of consciousness
- Developmental regressions
- Speech changes or difficulty understanding language
- Sudden falls
- Staring, sudden pause in activity, not responding, or appearing confused or in a haze
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Eye fluttering, periods of rapid blinking or staring into space
- Sudden head nods, spasms or stiffening of the body
- Breathing problems
- Vision loss or changes
Advanced Epilepsy Care at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Our epilepsy team provides leading-edge care for children with epilepsy. Find out more about treatment options at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.
