What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Is Having a Stroke

If you suspect that your child is having a stroke, call 911 first and then call 617-726-2066 to reach the Pediatric Neurology Fellow on call.

Signs and Symptoms of Stroke

In children and teenagers, the most common signs and symptoms of stroke include the sudden appearance of:

• Weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, usually on one side of the body
• Trouble walking due to weakness or trouble moving one side of the body, or due to loss of coordination
• Problems speaking or understanding language, including slurred speech, trouble trying to speak, inability to speak at all, or difficulty in understanding simple directions
• Severe headache especially with vomiting and sleepiness
• Trouble seeing clearly in one or both eyes
• Severe dizziness or loss of coordination that may lead to losing balance or falling
• New appearance of seizures, especially if affecting one side of the body and followed by paralysis on the side of the seizure activity
• Combination of progressively worsening non-stop headache, drowsiness and repetitive vomiting, lasting days without relief
• Complaint of sudden onset of the "worst headache of my life"

In newborns and infants, common symptoms include:

• Seizures
• Extreme sleepiness
• A tendency to use only one side of their body

Note: When stroke affects a newborn infant, symptoms may not appear until 4 to 6 months of age in the form of decreased movement or weakness of one side of the body.