Since 2012, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva has served the American Academy of Pediatrics in various leadership capacities, including as its associate executive director. As such, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva received a Maternal and Child Health Bureau grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration for increasing awareness of and improving access to care for children and youth with epilepsy.
In the U.S., an estimated 300,000 children under the age of 14 live with epilepsy, a neurological disorder that can develop at various stages of a child’s life and manifest itself in a number of different ways. In some cases, epilepsy is a temporary condition that can be managed with medication until the child grows out of it, generally within a few years. For others, epilepsy is a lifelong condition that can impact a person’s life in numerous ways.
For children, seizures are one of epilepsy’s most notable and intimidating symptoms. There are several types of seizures associated with epilepsy, including generalized seizures, which affect the whole brain, and partial seizures, which impact a smaller portion of the brain.
Generalized seizures include tonic-clonic seizures. Sometimes referred to as convulsions, tonic-clonic seizures are the most common and easily recognizable epileptic seizures. These seizures usually last between one and two minutes.
Partial seizures range from simple partial seizures, during which the child is aware of what is happening but cannot control his or her body, to complex partial seizures. The symptoms of complex partial seizures, also known as automatisms, can vary dramatically, depending on which area of the brain is being impacted, and may even include hallucinations.
To learn more about the various types of epileptic seizures, click “Types of Seizures” in the menu at www.epilepsy.com/living-epilepsy/parents-and-caregivers/about-kids.
In the U.S., an estimated 300,000 children under the age of 14 live with epilepsy, a neurological disorder that can develop at various stages of a child’s life and manifest itself in a number of different ways. In some cases, epilepsy is a temporary condition that can be managed with medication until the child grows out of it, generally within a few years. For others, epilepsy is a lifelong condition that can impact a person’s life in numerous ways.
For children, seizures are one of epilepsy’s most notable and intimidating symptoms. There are several types of seizures associated with epilepsy, including generalized seizures, which affect the whole brain, and partial seizures, which impact a smaller portion of the brain.
Generalized seizures include tonic-clonic seizures. Sometimes referred to as convulsions, tonic-clonic seizures are the most common and easily recognizable epileptic seizures. These seizures usually last between one and two minutes.
Partial seizures range from simple partial seizures, during which the child is aware of what is happening but cannot control his or her body, to complex partial seizures. The symptoms of complex partial seizures, also known as automatisms, can vary dramatically, depending on which area of the brain is being impacted, and may even include hallucinations.
To learn more about the various types of epileptic seizures, click “Types of Seizures” in the menu at www.epilepsy.com/living-epilepsy/parents-and-caregivers/about-kids.
