Brief Report: Psychogenic Nonepileptic Events in Pediatric Patients with Autism or Intellectual Disability.

Doctors looked at the kids with autism or ID who had psychogenic nonepileptic events. These look like seizures but have no brain cause.

The team tracked what happened after the kids left their specialty clinic. They called families 12 months later to ask if the events stopped or got better.

Ten out of eleven kids had fewer events or none at all after one year. Only one child still had the same level of events.

This shows that most kids with ASD or ID can shake off these fake seizures within a year when they get the right care.

Ventola et al. (2016) saw similar good news over the study period of PRT. Their kids had less repetitive behavior. Both studies show real change in 3-4 months.

So et al. (2019) followed Japanese teens with ASD for two years. Like our study, most kids got better on their own timeline. The difference is they team watched internet addiction, not seizures.

These papers together tell us that many tough behaviors in ASD can fade over time, whether you treat them or just watch and support.

If a child with autism has sudden shaking or staring spells, think beyond epilepsy. Ask for video of the events and refer to a specialty clinic. Most kids will improve within a year, so your role is to support the family and track progress.