Tag Archives: epilepsy

Does My Son Have Epilepsy?

My oldest son came to be ours when he was three years old, he had been in foster care for a year before him and his brother joined our family. When he came home we knew there would be an adjustment time for him especially because he is the oldest. He barely knew us and we barely knew him, yet here we are a brand new family. We noticed that he would start staring off and we thought it was just him being a normal toddler, spacing out and ignoring his parents. We never realized that this zoning out could … Continue reading →

Epilepsy and Learning

Did you know that approximately 50% of persons with epilepsy also have ADD, ADHD or another learning disorder? Neurologists have determined that when a person with epilepsy they have electrical discharges which cause the seizure activity disrupts the connections between nerve cells. This disruption causes abnormal brain activity. Even when a person’s seizures are well controlled the disorder can cause learning and developmental issues. The severities of the impairments vary depending on how much of the brain is affected by the abnormal brain activity. Abnormal brain activity can cause cognitive impairments, executive function impairments and motor skill impairments. When a … Continue reading →

More Types of Seizures

So far you have read about petit mal seizures also known as absence seizures and grand mal seizures also known as generalized clonic tonic seizures. These are both types of generalized seizures. Generalized seizures are seizures that affect both halves of the brain. With my son we saw on his EEG that he was having spikes in the brain waves in all four areas of his brain. There are sub-types of generalized seizures. They include: Myoclonic seizures, these include spasms of most often occur on both sides of the body. There is no loss of consciousness and the person may … Continue reading →

Does my Son Have Epilepsy?

When you have kids whether you have them biologically or you adopt them like we did, you hope that they can live a wonderful, strong, productive lives. When your child has a medical condition, your dreams for them get a little less clear. When our kids were placed with us our oldest was three and as far as we knew they were a healthy set of boys who only needed a family to love. It was not too long after we welcomed them into our hearts and family that we noticed our oldest son was zoning out quite frequently. We … Continue reading →

Epilepsy in Cats

Epilepsy is relatively rare in cats, but it does happen. We have a regular guest at the cats-only boarding facility with epilepsy; a friend has a cat who has seizures. In general, there are two types of seizure disorders in cats: Secondary/acquired epilepsy — the seizures are a symptom of another condition, like high blood pressure, a tumor, or trauma. This type of epilepsy can appear at any age. Idiopathic epilepsy — there is no underlying cause for the seizures. This often develops between the ages of one and three years. Epilepsy in felines doesn’t always look like epilepsy in … Continue reading →

Pet First Aid: Epilepsy

Epilepsy is one of the main causes of seizures in dogs. It is a neurological disorder characterized by sudden attacks of muscular or sensory malfunction that may come with loss of consciousness or convulsions. There are two types of seizures that may come with an epileptic episode. A grand mal seizure is a severe, widespread cramping of skeletal muscles, resulting in body movement. A petit mal seizure is a less severe type of seizure where brain activity is only mildly disrupted — the pet may still have some control of movement. What you may see if your dog is having … Continue reading →

Pet First Aid: Seizures

Dogs are more likely than cats to suffer from a seizure, but either can suffer from a seizure at any time. Basically, an injury or inherited condition can short circuit the electrical activity in a pet’s brain, causing your pet to lose control of his or her body. A pet who is having a seizure may experience the following symptoms: * Falling over * Crying out/vocalizing * Uncontrollable leg movement or paddling * Loss of consciousness * Involuntary loss of bladder and bowel control Seizures look scary. Keeping calm and acting quickly can help your pet weather the attack. Move … Continue reading →

Ten Ways to Help Your Child with Epilepsy Succeed in School

Childhood epilepsy can have a wide variety of causes. Head injury, infections of the brain, brain tumors, and genetic history could potentially be factors. However, in a great number of cases, no medical explanation for a child’s seizures can be determined. Children with epilepsy are eligible for special education, according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). As the parent of a child with epilepsy, there are adaptations in the regular classroom setting which you can request (and insist upon) for your child. An IEP meeting should be conducted where you can discuss these adaptations specifically … Continue reading →

Childhood Seizures: What Parents Should Know

If your child had a seizure, would you know it? And would you know what to do? What is a seizure? A seizure is a brief period of time when a person’s brain has a surge of electrical activity. The surge temporarily alters consciousness, perceptions, and/or muscle control. Children with Cerebral Palsy, Autism, mental retardation, or any neurological disorder are at higher risk for experiencing a seizure. It’s a good idea for parents to recognize the symptoms and know what to do. Possible signs of a seizure: Staring Spells. If your child has episodes of staring into space, make it … Continue reading →