Epilepsy

The NHS describes epilepsy as a condition that affects your brain and causes seizures, sometimes called fits. A seizure usually lasts a few seconds or minutes, and stops by itself. Seizures do not all look like the dramatic version people picture: some involve staring, a brief absence, an odd Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) A diagnosis given when a child is often angry and defiant with adults, over a long time. It describes what the child does, not why they do it. Read the full definition of Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) smell or taste, jerking in one limb, or a sudden change in behaviour.

Epilepsy often starts in young children, though it can begin at any age. Epilepsy Action says there are more than 26,000 children with epilepsy in the UK aged 4 to 12, so a school of any size is likely to have several.

Diagnosis usually follows more than one seizure, or comes earlier if tests show a risk of more seizures. What your doctor most needs from you is a clear account of what happened before, during and after: what your child was doing, how long it lasted, what they were like afterwards. A phone video, if you can get one safely, is genuinely useful. Tests may include an EEG to check electrical activity in the brain, heart checks, brain scans, blood tests and sometimes genetic testing.

School matters here in a practical way that other entries on this list do not. Epilepsy Action provides epilepsy training for teachers and classroom resources, and most schools will want an individual healthcare plan agreed with you.