EPILEPSY

Epilepsy



Epilepsy

Introduction and Background

Individuals with epilepsy should be supported and motivated to have normal, healthy relationships with others and to be engaged in everyday social activities. Some community programs and networking are very helpful for adults and children with epilepsy. As I addressed earlier there are many local epilepsy foundations that can provide fun and engaging summer camp programs so that children may also have normal childhood experiences and be supported in an environment that includes their involvement with other children who may have epilepsy.

Discussion

Epilepsy is a chronic condition that can be traumatic on the child with epilepsy and his or her family. Families vary in their ability to cope with childhood epilepsy and this may affect overall family adaptation. Without the ability to adapt to having a child with epilepsy, families may not effectively manage the child's condition. Effective management of epilepsy is extremely significant for decreased seizure activity and positive adaptation. Relationships between family members are also significant to each individual family member's overall adaptation and stress level (Schultz, 1993, 205).

Hanson & Kaakinen (2001) explain that individuals cannot be entirely understood without information regarding their families, and they also emphasize the interconnectedness of all individuals, especially those that share a family unit. They state “The family is viewed as a whole, not as merely the sum of its parts” (Hanson & Kaakinen, 2001, p. 44). Normal family relationships are extremely important for the adaptation of a family unit because family members have a special interrelatedness, especially in the face of illness and other health-related beliefs and experiences. The family stress and coping theory (FSCT) provides a strong framework for discussion of family coping and adaptation to having a child with epilepsy. The basic assumption of FSCT is that the experience of stress is normal (Burke, 1999, 98).

However, families must employ effective coping mechanisms in order to maintain their equilibrium during stress. Their ability to cope depends on a number of factors, including the availability of necessary resources, including knowledge, skills, and emotional support. The outcome will be overall positive adaptation or negative adaptation. Major concepts relevant to management of epilepsy-related issues are: stressors, resources, appraisal, coping strategies, and family adaptation. Stressors are events that occur within a family that have the ability to affect or alter the functioning of the family. Resources are “the properties, attributes, or skills that individuals or families have at their disposal when adapting to stressor events” (Plunkett, 2003, p. 1).

Appraisal is the process of determining the value of the stressor or stressors. Coping strategies are the methods a family uses to help get through stressful situations. These strategies can be used by the entire family or by individuals within the family. Family adaptation is the result of a family's attempt to adjust and change after a stressor or stressors have occurred within the family. Where epilepsy is concerned, having a child with epilepsy is the stressor. A crisis occurs in the family when there are not enough resources to support family coping ...