| Children |
The parents of children with epilepsy
often feel guilty and anxious, although there are no grounds for
having these feelings. This often results in over-protection of
their children. Normal and necessary restrictions as to swimming,
boating and fishing may develop into absurd prohibitions. It is
important that the child with epilepsy lives as normal a life
as possible, so that he will be able to live a full adult life.
The upbringing of a child who, in
addition to epilepsy, has a brain defect, even a very slight one,
can be a strain on the parents. The child is often hyperactive,
racing from one thing to the other, without being able to occupy
himself for more than a few minutes at a time. If anything distracts
him, he forgets what he was doing before. The child becomes hysterical
if corrected, but soon afterwards seeks contact again. This striking
restlessness, with irritation, tiredness and aggression is typical
of children with mild brain damage.
It is important that these children's
development takes place within a fixed framework, best in small
groups in quiet surroundings, where the child can find warmth
and kindness as well as firmness.
As parents are often afraid that
the child's behavior is the result of their lack of parental skill,
they can take comfort in the knowledge that the symptoms are well-known
in children with these illnesses.
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| Family
therapy |
It is a good idea to start family
therapy if problems reach deadlock. A discussion with the epilepsy
clinic's doctor and psychologist can also solve smaller problems.
In the most difficult cases it may be necessary for the child
to spend some time in an institution for children with behavioral
problems.
Some problems may be caused by a
too comprehensive treatment , for example with many different
anti-epileptic drugs at the same time. As very little benefit
is obtained by treating with more than 2-3 drugs at one time,
it will be important to make the treatment as simple as possible,
if the child has behavioral difficulties.
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Reactions from the surroundings
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It is well known that epilepsy does
not appeal to people's sympathy and understanding, in the same
way that other more visible handicaps do. On the contrary, many
people are horror-struck when they see a convulsive seizure or
a complex partial seizure. This anxiety can be the cause of fellow
workers not wanting to work along side someone with epilepsy because
"it might affect their piece work rate", or they may claim that
there are other difficulties preventing them working together.
In the same way, an employer may
avoid taking on someone with epilepsy, often saying that their
responsibility to the rest of the workforce prevents them from
being able to do so.
People with epilepsy, who have never
witnessed their own convulsions or complex partial seizures, may
find this difficult to understand. It is not surprising that people
with epilepsy react to these experiences by trying to keep their
handicap secret.
People with epilepsy are not more
neurotic than other people. The way they react is directly related
to the way they themselves are treated, and the lack of acceptance
they so often come up against in their everyday life.
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