"Epilepsy is what I have, not what I am!"
Many persons with a disability or anything which distinguishes them from the "norm" often find labels alienating, hurtful and demeaning. When we misuse an adjective as a noun in reference to a person, we focus on one single aspect of the individual's life rather than on the whole person. Let's try to become more aware of the self-identification preferences of many people with seizure disorders, just as we now show more care and sensitivity to this issue in matters of other disability, skin colour, religious background, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
Instead of saying "He's an epileptic," the preferred terminology is "He's a person with epilepsy" or "He has epilepsy."
It is appropriate to use the term "epileptic" as an adjective, as in "epileptic seizures."
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