Informing others on epilepsy

If you have epilepsy, then you might feel less confident going out in public in case you know that you can get a seizure. You may choose to avoid social situations because you feel uncomfortable talking about you epilepsy.

Deciding when to tell others about a medical condition like epilepsy is a personal decision. Some people may be very open about their epilepsy, and some people prefer to wait until they know people better before talking about their epilepsy. It is not uncommon to find that a person with a mild epilepsy, who is seizure free, does not want to have it known that (s)he has epilepsy.

There is still discrimination against people with epilepsy because of a lack of knowledge on epilepsy. You cannot really blame people if they discriminate when they haven’t had the chance to gain knowledge on the condition. More frankness from people with epilepsy will improve conditions for all those with epilepsy. If more well-known people who have epilepsy dare to stand up and talk about how they have achieved what they have despite having epilepsy, it would help all those who experience discrimination. Discrimination is found most often among those who know little about the subject. It can also be found amongst children and youth who might tend to tease and bully those who are in any way "different". Parents need to inform the school that their child has epilepsy. The class teacher in turn needs to give space to the youngster to explain to the other children what this means, so that they can understand that it is just something they, and the child involved, easily can learn to live with. The situation must be put across in the most matter-of fact and undramatic way possible. On the one hand, people must not be over-protective, but on the other hand the child must not be exposed to teasing or bullying. Like children need the help of parents to inform the school well, youth need to learn to explain themselves what epilepsy really is and how their classmates can deal with it, so that they themselves combat the misunderstanding on epilepsy.