All children love letters from Santa and children with special needs enjoy the experience and wonder all the same.  Most children do not receive mail, including Christmas cards, so sending your child a letter from Santa is double the treat.  The best part is, it costs about five dollars!

Epilepsy.

It is a word that conjures up feelings of fear, dread, the unknown, and of complex and not-understood medical terms. But, armed with the right information, epilepsy sufferers and even parents of epileptic children can fight through these feelings, and in turn find they have a greater chance of successfully treating seizures. 

In this episode of the Epilepsymoms podcast, Arlene Martell engages guest Dr, Robert Mittan in a candid discussion about the fundamental basics of seizures.

I opened my son Ian’s book bag, and I felt like someone punched me in the gut.  I was overcome with conflicting emotions of happiness and devastation – all due to a worksheet he completed at school about the word: Danger.

He was so proud to show me the worksheet and explain that danger meant, “It can hurt me”.  I replied by saying, “Ian, did you know what ‘danger’ meant before Mrs. C taught you?”  He just replied – “danger means it can hurt me”. 

I am holding my breath.  I probably shouldn't, but I am.

My email is full of messages discussing our soon to be President, Barack Obama, and his announcement that he will reform Autism and insurance mandates; i.e. policy reform targeted at having insurance companies help pay for the cost of treating autism; at least I think that's what it means...

The answer of course is anyone can suffer from epilepsy!  Yet some members of the public don’t realize that epilepsy sufferers come from all walks of life.  It doesn’t matter their age, color, sex or background, it’s an illness that affects millions of people around the world. 

Whilst many of us worry that our kids watch too much television, there’s no doubting the power of TV to educate society, both youngsters and adults alike, about important issues. 

When it comes to epilepsy, breaking down the stigma and fear many people have is an important battle and one that two women decided to take on over 10 years ago.

What does a person with epilepsy look like?  ANYONE… is the simple answer!  Of course it’s impossible to tell whether someone has epilepsy just by looking at them… but the average person on the street may not know that and could have all kinds of misinformed beliefs about the illness. 

In a series of videos about epilepsy, Laura Yakes, Director of The Center for Seizure and Epilepsy Education in BC, Canada, hopes to break down those myths and stereotypes about the illness.  In one of the videos, reminiscent of the Diet Coke adverts, a hot guy walks into a coffee shop and immediately grabs the attention of three ladies having a drink.

In yesterday's post I talked about providing your child with autism or epilepsy natural socialization opportunities by using theme parties and your child's interest, so they can make friends and build a typical childhood social life.

Today I'll tell you how to ensure other children attend and have fun too!

Are you always looking for ways to help your child make friends and have typical childhood experiences with other children (i.e. - fun)? Have you found opportunities for 'real -everyday' socialization are limited or difficult to find?

I did! But thanks to my thinking out-of-the-box (a pun you'll appreciate later in the post), I've found a great way to help my children make true friends and have fun. 

It’s a sad fact that some epilepsy sufferers still experience discrimination in the work place, as a result of fear, ignorance and a lack of education about the illness.  When it comes to recruitment many employees might be tempted to rule out someone who has epilepsy simply because they don’t know the facts.

Laura Yakes, Director of The Center for Seizure and Epilepsy Education in BC, Canada decided to fight back against this kind of prejudice by producing a video with a tough message.