Juvenile absence epilepsy

3rd September 2019

Juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE) is an epilepsy syndrome that’s quite common. It’s slightly more prevalent in girls than boys and presents mostly with absence seizures, which can mean that it’s easily confused for childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME).  Symptoms  With JAE, seizures will most often start between 9 - 12 years…

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Category: Syndromes

Cycling and epilepsy

28th August 2019

It’s more common than you would expect for people with epilepsy to wonder whether it’s safe to cycle or not. This is partly due to the growing popularity of cycling as a form of exercise and enjoyment, but also because many people with epilepsy are unable to drive until they’ve been seizure-free for over a…

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Category: Leisure

Are there any jobs off-limits to people with epilepsy?

22nd August 2019

Within reason, there are very few jobs that should be off-limits to people with epilepsy. An employer can not legally use your epilepsy as a reason to not give you a job. It is also important that employers are willing to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate you should they be needed.  There are however a…

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Category: Living with Epilepsy

SUDEP and how the death of Cameron Boyce is raising awareness

19th August 2019

In July 2019, young actor, Cameron Boyce tragically died in his sleep as a result of SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy). Cameron was known for his roles in a number of Hollywood films and TV shows, including Grown Ups, Descendants and Jessie.  Of course, within the epilepsy community SUDEP is not new. However, the…

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Category: Living with Epilepsy, Syndromes

Epilepsy in school

30th July 2019

It’s crucial that children with epilepsy have unrestricted access to an education and quite often this might mean that some adjustments need to be made within the school. It may be that special considerations need to be made to ensure the child’s safety whilst they are in school.  School can be a stressful time for…

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Category: Education, Living with Epilepsy

Gelastic epilepsy

23rd July 2019

Gelastic epilepsy is a very rare syndrome that affects 1 out of every 1,000 children with epilepsy and is slightly more common in boys than girls. The syndrome takes its name from the Greek word, gelastikos, which means laughter because seizures will often start with unexplained laughter. The laughter is often described as being hollow…

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Category: Syndromes