Teachers Collaborating to Help Students with Epilepsy - Research Paper Example

While this collaboration holds weight on all instances, its significance increases substantially in instances of extreme difficulty, such as presence of illnesses in students. Epilepsy: Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by repeated seizures over time. Seizures are sporadic episodes of perturbing brain activity that causes changes in attention and behavior. Defining Seizures: Seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. The symptoms and affects of the seizure will depend on the area of the brain affected.

The organ which is affected depends upon what part of the brain is affected. Seizures are classified into two types: Focal seizures and generalized seizures. Focal seizures start in any one area of the brain and may or may not spread across other areas of the body. Generalized seizures result from abnormal neuronal activities on both parts of the brain. Simple Focal seizures are guilty of causing unusual sensations, movements and feelings; however, they are not the cause of loss of consciousness.

Complex focal seizures can be the cause of loss of consciousness and can produce dreamlike experiences or repetitive behavior. The area at which these focal seizures begin is what defines these seizures. E.g. Epilepsy of the temporal lobe originates on the temporal lobes of the brain (National Institute of Health, 2007). Generalized seizures are known to cause massive muscle spasms, loss of consciousness and falls. Generalized seizures have several subtypes. Some of the key types of generalized seizures are: Absence Seizures: Absence Seizures are characterized by symptoms that cause victims to stare into space or jerking and twitching of muscles.

They are known to start during childhood or adolescence. Tonic Seizures: They cause stiffening of muscles. Clonic Seizures: This form of generalized seizures causes repeated jerking of movement on both sides of the body. Myoclonic Seizures: Myoclonic seizures cause twitches, jerks, and sporadic muscle movements in the upper body, arms and legs. Atonic seizures: Loss of normal muscle tone which can lead to sudden drops of the head is caused by atonic seizures. Epilepsy, which is characterized by Seizures, is also divided into different types.

Several syndromes of epilepsy are identified by researches; while some of them are recognized as hereditary, the causes of other syndromes are not known (Wyllie, 2007). Epileptic syndrome classification uses the terms symptomatic, idiopathic and cryptogenic. Seizures that have a known underlying cause are characterized as symptomatic. Idiopathic seizures are seizures which do not have a known cause. Cryptogenic seizures are seizures which have a suspected cause but the cause is not known for certainty (National Institute of Health, 2007).

Location Related Epilepsy: This form of epilepsy consists of focal seizures. This form of epilepsy constitutes an EEG pattern, characteristic of focal electrical abnormality. The prognosis of location related epilepsy is very difficult and depends upon location of the brain abnormality (Engel, Pedley, & Aicardi, 2008). West’s Syndrome/ Infantile Spasms Infantile spasms fall under the symptomatic generalized epilepsy. They are found mostly in children of the age from 3 months to 3 years, associated with sudden epileptic flexor spasms and extreme risk for cognitive impairment.

During the episode, the affected child may suddenly flex his limbs, flex forward at the trunk and cry. This episode is transient,