Understanding Seizure Types, Causes, and Connections to Stress and Brain Injury (Volume 3, Episode 10)

   Your Podcast Hosts Angela and Davey discuss Dr. Howie Knoff's most recent Blog (Part III of a comprehensive Series) from Project ACHIEVE Educational Solutions. It begins by highlighting how important it is for school personnel to understand students who present with seizures—initially, through the lens of a recent Supreme Court case involving a student with severe epilepsy and the accommodations she was denied.    This Podcast (and the Blog) proceeds with a discussion of a number of the most-common seizures along with their general characteristics, incidence levels, and impact on students in school. In addition, Davey and Angela describe (a) the neurological root causes for each of seizures discussed, along with the areas of the brain involved; and (b) the complex bidirectional relationship between seizures and stress and PTSD.   Relative to this latter area, Angela and Davey note the existence of Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES), also called functional or pseudoseizures. They detail their symptoms, underlying causes and risk factors, treatment approaches, and the supports for affected students in school.   Finally, the Podcast examines the link between Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and different classifications of post-traumatic seizures and epilepsy. It concludes with a section on management approaches for these conditions and the crucial role of schools in providing support and implementing strategies like Seizure Action Plans.