Epilepsy Action

http://www.epilepsy.org.uk
The 14th - 20th May is National Epilepsy Week. The theme this year is children, young people and education so it has particular relevance to those working in schools. In the UK, 42,000 children under the age of 16 have epilepsy but only 19 per cent of schools who responded to a questionnaire by Epilepsy Action felt that staff awareness of epilepsy is good.

The Epilepsy Action website has some resources on their website to help increase the knowledge of the condition including a schools policy and details of the pilot 'Epilepsy in Schools Awareness Programme'. An online resource is being developed that aims to provide school staff with all they need to maximise the potential of a child with epilepsy’s education, as well as lesson plans to help them teach other children about epilepsy to reduce stigma and bullying.

Some facts about epilepsy, taken from the website:

• Epilepsy is the tendency to have recurrent seizures.
• There are around 40 different types of seizure and a person may have more than one type.
• Epilepsy can affect anyone, at any age and from any walk of life.
• 456,000 or one in every 131 people in the UK has epilepsy.
• Epilepsy is a neurological condition.
• Only 52 per cent of people with epilepsy in the UK are seizure-free. It is estimated that 70 per cent could be seizure free with the right treatment.
• One in 20 people will have a single seizure at some time in their life.
• Many people who develop epilepsy below the age of 20 will ‘grow out of it' in adult life.
• Many people with epilepsy are still discriminated against due to ignorance about the condition.
• Epilepsy is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.
• The vast majority of people with epilepsy can take part in the same activities as everyone else, with the help of simple safety measures where appropriate.
• People who have been seizure free for a year can re-apply for their driving licence.

On a final note about epilepsy, the Epilepsy Action website has this to say about a certain piece of political correctness propaganda:

"We are often asked about the word 'brainstorming' and whether its use is acceptable. Our view is that it depends upon the context: if the word is being used to describe a meeting where participants are suggesting ideas, then its use is not offensive to people with epilepsy. However, it should not be used to describe a seizure or the electrical activity within the brain during a seizure."