November is Epilepsy Awareness Month!
Epilepsy is a condition that causes seizures that affect one's mental and physical functions. A person is officially diagnosed with epilepsy when they have two or more unprovoked seizures within a short amount of time. A seizure is when a part of the brain "misfires" and sends erratic, uncontrolled signals that interfere with normal functioning. A seizure can last from seconds to minutes.
Approximately 1.3 to 2.8 million people have epilepsy in the U.S. and 65 millions world-wide. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, "Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the U.S. after migraine, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. Its prevalence is greater than Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease combined."
When we hear about epilepsy, most people immediantly think about the epileptics on T.V. who have those "grandma seizures." However, not all seizures result in convulsions. My brother's doctor says that, "A seizure can be just the twitch of a finger."
A friend of mine has epilepsy. David is twenty-four years old now and is my first experiene with epilepsy. His seizures an last from a few seconds to several minutes mintes. The longest seizure he has ever had lasted 45 minutes! I asked him to write about what ti was like to live with epilepsy. Here is what he had to say:
What is it like living with epilepsy? There are pros and cons. The pros are you never have to be the designated driver and you don't have to pay for car insurance since you can't get a driver's license unless you go can go a year without having a seizure. So I will probably never get one. I have had to live with epilepsy since I was in the fourth grade and now being twenty-four, well, that's a while. Really, the only problem I have living with epilepsy is that when a person first finds out that I have epilepsy, they think I'm crazy.
Epilepsy is actually very common amongst those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One of the girls we tutor at SFL-FATE is autistic and epileptic. I have never seen Kiley have a seizure, at least one severe enough that she would show outward signs of it, but I know from others that they who have suspected her to be having seizures in some moments when she seems to stare off into space.
About 1 out of 10 children and adolescents have had or will have a seizure sometime in their lifetimes in America. That's twenty-five million people! However, 20% to 40% of children and adolescents with autism also have epilepsy.
Participate in the Epilepsy Foundation's "30 Days in 30 Ways" to spread the word about epilepsy by doing one thing per day in November. Click the following link to see what you can do each day to spread epilepsy awareness: http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/getinvolved/neam/30days30ways.cfm.
