Epilepsy and family

We have studied, by means of a semi-structured interview administered at home, how parents of epileptic children perceive the impact of this condition both on themselves and on the whole family and on their child's development. The interview was designed to gather the following information: how parents perceive the epileptic condition, how much do they know about epilepsy and its determinants, what do they think about the availability of information on epilepsy, which are their major need in the daily management of the disease. Our data clearly show that parents are negatively affected by the possible consequences of epilepsy itself and of its pharmacological treatment on the child, and the perceived impact depends on several variables. In addition, our data show that parents clearly feel the need of directing an information campaign about epilepsy, carried out by a team including psychologists and neurologists, towards the general population and particularly towards teachers of nursery and primary schools.