Community Resources
Navigating your child’s epilepsy can be slow, complicated, and frustrating. This will be an ongoing resource for people that would like to learn more about epilepsy as well as a guide for the parents caring for a child with epilepsy.
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the world. If you have epilepsy, surges of electrical activity in your brain can cause recurring seizures.
Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes recurring, unprovoked seizures. Your doctor may diagnose you with epilepsy if you have two unprovoked seizures or one unprovoked seizure with a high risk of more. Not all seizures are the result of epilepsy. Seizures may relate to a brain injury or a family trait, but often the cause is completely unknown.
The word "epilepsy" simply means the same thing as "seizure disorders." It does not state anything about the cause of the person's seizures or their severity.
What is a Seizure?
Seizures are sudden surges of abnormal and excessive electrical activity in your brain and can affect how you appear or act. Where and how the seizure presents itself can have profound effects.