Epilepsy

What is Epilepsy?

Introduction

Epilepsy is a disorder that causes children to have seizures that are not caused by some other medical condition. A seizure can take many different forms, from one child staring off into space for a few seconds, to another child falling to the ground and having violent muscle spasms.

Epilepsy.com, the information site for the Epilepsy Therapy Project, defines a seizure as “a sudden alteration of behavior due to a temporary change in the electrical functioning of the brain, in particular the outside rim of the brain called the cortex.”

While the seizures are the main symptom of epilepsy, children with this disorder will often have other challenges that face them at school, at home, and with friends. It can also have an impact on the child’s thoughts and behaviours.

Challenges and strengths

Children with epilepsy will have seizures. There are many types of seizures, and more information on each can be found at Epilepsy.com. The types of seizures are:

  • Absence seizures
  • Atypical absence seizures
  • Myoclonic seizures
  • Atonic seizures
  • Tonic seizures
  • Clonic seizures
  • Tonic-Clonic seizures
  • Simple Partial seizures
  • Complex Partial seizures
  • Secondarily Generalized seizures
  • Psychogenic seizures

Other challenges may include:

  • Social alienation
  • Memory problems
  • Irritiability
  • Trouble finding the right words
  • Attention problems
  • Lack of self-control
  • Anxiety
  • Depression

Children with epilepsy can have a number of strengths as well, including:

  • Little to no academic impairment
  • Little to no social impairment, depending on the social environment

Diagnosis

When a child is brought to a doctor or an emergency room with a seizure, he or she will be referred to a neurologist, who can diagnose epilepsy. In order to do this, the neurologist needs to do two things: they need to confirm that it is epilepsy, and they need to rule out other medical reasons for the seizures. This way, a clear and accurate diagnosis can be made.

The neurologist will perform at least three tests:

  • A test (electroencephalogram) of the child’s brain waves
  • A blood test
  • A scan of the child’s brain – either a CT  or MRI.

Please see Epilepsy.com for a complete walkthrough of how a diagnosis is made, and what to expect from the doctors.

Causes

In children, epilepsy usually occurs because it was inherited from a parent. It can also occur because of other conditions, such as brain damage or head trauma.

In a person with epilepsy, certain things can cause seizures as well, so it is important to be aware of these triggers, and to avoid them. These can include:

  • lack of sleep
  • stress
  • poor nutrition
  • over-the-counter medication

It is important to note that this is a basic list of possible triggers, and this is something that you can discuss with your doctor when helping a child with epilepsy.

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