Epilepsy Ontario :: It Starts in the Brain

Never Heard of It? It Starts in the Brain…
�
�

What is Epilepsy?
�Technically, epilepsy is a "neurological disorder resulting from sudden bursts of electrical energy in the brain."� The term "epilepsy" is a broad one that covers a large family of disorders with many different causes.� Epilepsy can be caused by anything that harms the brain, such as scars, injury, tumors, infections, a malformation of vessels of the brain, or even a biochemical abnormality. However most children with epilepsy have no brain damage and are neurologically normal.

Anyone can have a seizure, and many people will have at least one seizure at some point in their lives.� It is not until a person has two or more seizures that s/he would be considered to have 'epilepsy' or a 'seizure disorder'.

Describing epilepsy (ep-il-lep-see) to a child …

Everything you do begins in the network of cells in the brain.� These cells send little signals to each other, faster than you can imagine.� The signals travel in nerves all over the body so you can talk, run, jump, think, hear, see, touch and do all the things you do every minute of every day. Brain cells are even hard at work while the rest of you sleeps!

For children with epilepsy the brain cells can send mixed up messages.� This could make their arm shake without them wanting it to shake. It could make things look, sound, or feel strange to them- just for a moment. It could make them stop and stare for a few minutes or sleepwalk around the class.� The child could fall down, get stiff, and then shake all over for a few minutes.� All these changes in things they feel or do cannot be stopped. There are all types of seizures.
�