Pediatric Spells Clinic

Babies and children often do unusual things: they may have twitching, jerking, staring, frequent falls or other abnormal movements. Many of these spells turn out to be benign, but some are more serious. At first, it can be hard to tell which kids need medical attention from a specialist and, if so, how urgently.

Diagnosis and treatment

Our clinic has diagnosed and treated babies and children with benign conditions such as tics, tremors, infant shuddering, childhood migraine variants, breath-holding spells and vasovagal syncope, as well as more serious conditions including infantile spasms and posterior fossa brain mass with impending herniation.

When a child should be seen by the Emergency Department

A child with new onset persistent or worsening level of awareness or motor function should be seen as soon as possible at a nearby Emergency Department. If the patient lives in or near Dane County, we recommend bringing the child to the UW Health Emergency Department, staffed by pediatric emergency specialists, located at 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792.

To reduce travel, we can schedule testing locally, as available. Based on diagnosis, our team will coordinate testing and care with our specialists. This may include direct admission to American Family Children’s Hospital, scheduling an urgent visit with the UW Health Kids Neurology Clinic (located at University Hospital) or with other specialists at American Family Children’s Hospital.

For referring physicians

Referrals: Call (608) 890-6500 or learn more about referring a patient.

This clinic offers in-person and telehealth visits to make it convenient for families to receive an initial screening evaluation. We welcome referrals for kids with "spells" as described above. Referrals should include a brief patient history, list of current medications and any EEG reports or copies of available neuroimaging. A low threshold for referral to this clinic is encouraged.

Initial appointments are available in person or by video, for family convenience. A detailed history will be collected by Alexa Beversdorf, APNP, who has special training in this area. She is backed by David Hsu, MD, PhD, Director of the Kids Epilepsy Program, and by other board-certified pediatric neurologists. Our team also works closely with pediatric specialists in cardiology, pulmonology and neurosurgery.