How Does Epilepsy Affect Daily Life?

^{Reviewed by: My Child Without Limits Advisory Committee September 2009}

Most people with epilepsy lead lives that may look normal to others. Approximately 80 percent can be helped by modern therapies, and some may go months or years between seizures. However, the condition can and does affect the lives of people with epilepsy, as well as their family, and their friends. People with severe seizures that are resistant to treatment usually have shorter life expectancies and an increased risk of learning problems, especially if the seizures developed when they were young children. These problems may be related to the underlying conditions that caused the epilepsy or to epilepsy treatment rather than the epilepsy itself.

Behavior and Emotions

It can be common for people, especially children with epilepsy, to develop behavioral and emotional problems. Sometimes these problems are caused by the person's embarrassment or frustration of having epilepsy.

Other problems may come from being bullied, teased, or avoided in school and in other social settings. In children, these problems can be reduced if parents encourage a positive outlook and independence, do not reward negative behavior with unusual amounts of attention, and try to stay in touch with their child's needs and feelings. Families must learn to accept and live with the seizures without blaming or resenting the affected person. Counseling services can help families cope with epilepsy in a positive manner. Epilepsy support groups also can help by giving people with epilepsy and their family members ways to share their experiences, frustrations, as well as tips for coping with the disorder.People with epilepsy have an increased risk of poor self-esteem, depression, and suicide. These problems may be a reaction to a lack of understanding or discomfort about epilepsy that may result in cruelty or avoidance by other people. Many people with epilepsy also live with an ongoing fear that they will have another seizure.

Education and Employment

By law, people with epilepsy or other handicaps in the United States cannot be denied employment or access to any educational, recreational, or other activity because of their seizures. However, one survey showed that only about 56 percent of people with epilepsy finish high school and about 15 percent finish college -- rates much lower than those for the general population. The same survey found that about 25 percent of working-age people with epilepsy are unemployed. These numbers indicate that significant barriers still exist for people with epilepsy in school and work.

Restrictions on driving limit the employment opportunities for many people with epilepsy, and many find it difficult to face the misunderstandings and social pressures they encounter in public situations.

Antiepileptic drugs also may cause side effects that interfere with concentration and memory. Children with epilepsy may need extra time to complete schoolwork, and they sometimes may need to have instructions or other information repeated for them. Teachers should be told what to do if a child in their classroom has a seizure, and parents should work with the school system to find reasonable ways to handle any special needs their child may have.

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What Research Is Being Done on Epilepsy?

Download the Introduction to Epilepsy.