Letting Kids be Kids

Erin Conway, MS,

RN, CPNP

A seizure is a brief, excessive discharge of brain electrical activity that changes how a person feels, senses, thinks, or behaves.

Epilepsy is a disorder in which a person has two or more seizures without a clear cause.

More than 2 million Americans have epilepsy; 9 million will have epilepsy at some time in their life.

One in 11 people will have at least one seizure in their lifetime.

Most individuals with epilepsy have normal intelligence, behavior and are seizure free on medications

70% of children with Epilepsy will outgrow it

Will my child be alright? Can he/she ever lead a normal life? Can seizures ever be controlled? Can I ever leave he/she alone? Will he/she have to take medicine for the

rest of their life? What will my friends think? Will I ever be able to ride my bike again?

Play on my school team? Go to college? Drive a car?

My child suffers from allergies? Is it safe to administer allergy medicine?

My child has a cold, is there any medications I should avoid?

Can my child receive immunizations? My child was prescribed antibiotics, is it

safe to administer with her seizure medication?

Most children with epilepsy attend regular classes, although in some cases they need special aides to work with them.

Special education programs- instruction in regular classrooms or separate facilities for all or part of the day.

If child is not doing well in mainstreamed classroom, parents should meet with teachers to identify the problem

Comprehensive Evaluation

YES!!! Can he ride a bike? Can she swim? Can he play football? Can she go to sleep away camp? Should we tell the coach he has epilepsy?

Common sense goes a long way. Each decision should be on an individualized basis. The goal should be safety and a lifestyle as normal as possible.

Video games do not cause epilepsy. Children who are photosensitive, and in

whom flashing lights or flickering images can trigger seizures or epilepsy waves on EEG may have seizures playing video games. This occurs in approximately 3 % of people with epilepsy, so almost all children who have epilepsy should be able to play video games without seizures.

Play in well lighted room Maintain distance between the screen Avoid playing for long periods of time Take regular breaks Stop the game if strange/unusual feeling

develops

Be truthful and simple. Reassurance You can’t catch a seizure as if it were a

cold.

Fear, Grief, Anger are all normal responses. Acceptance takes time. Acceptance means that you consider your child a normal child who happens to have seizures.

How do you feel about having epilepsy? How do you think other kids react to you

because you have epilepsy? Do you understand what the doctor said

to you?

Bazil, C.; Chong, D.; Friedman, D. Epilepsy. New York, NY. Oxford University Press; 2011.

Devinsky, O. Epilepsy: Patient and Family Guide. 3rd edition. New York, NY: Demos Medical Publishing, LLC; 2008.

Freeman, J.; Vining, E.; Pillas, D. Seizures and Epilepsy in Childhood: A guide. 3rd edition. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2002.