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;  Devinsky, O. Epilepsy: Patient and Family Guide. 3 rd edition. New York, NY: Demos Medical Publishing, LLC;  Freeman, J.; Vining, E.; Pillas, D. Seizures and Epilepsy in Childhood: A guide. 3 rd edition. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2002.