A bad attitude towards Epilepsy can hurt more than this medical condition

There's a sign in front of the Epilepsy Support Centre on Riverside Drive. Some people don't like it.

This is what the sign says: "Your attitude hurts more than my seizures."

A couple of callers phoned the centre and complained about the sign. Maybe they think it's insulting or offensive. I'm not sure.

According to spokesperson Mary Afentoulopoulos, one guy said he was so upset by the sign that he'd never support the organization.

"But we think it gets the message across," says Afentoulopoulos. "Attitude is a huge problem."
Attitude? About epilepsy? What kind of negative attitudes could possibly exist about a neurological disorder?

Let me tell you.

* Afentoulopoulos says one centre member had been working at his factory-type job for 10 years when a new manager was hired. When the new manager found out about the worker's epilepsy, he forced him to wear a bicycle helmet. Co-workers started making fun of the man. Then, after months of insulting abuse, the man verbally lashed out at one of the teasers. The man with epilepsy was fired.

* Fifty-seven per cent of 620 people surveyed at the Western Fair a few years ago indicated that when aiding a person having an epileptic seizure, they should put something in the person's mouth so they don't swallow their tongue. (This is dangerously false. Not only is it impossible to swallow one's tongue, but putting an object into the mouth of someone in seizure could damage their teeth and jaw, or cause them to choke.)

* Alex Shteiman says a former roommate told him that, until he met Shteiman, he thought people who had epileptic seizures were "retarded."

Those are just some of the attitudes that sign is talking about. Here are some more:

* Some people think epilepsy is a mental illness. (It isn't.)

* Some people think epilepsy is a contagious disease. (It isn't.)

In the past, epileptic seizures were believed to be caused by witchcraft, demons, feeble-mindedness and even masturbation. (And no, it isn't.)

In fact, about one per cent of the population lives with epilepsy, which translates into roughly 3,500 Londoners. Afentoulopoulos says most of those people live relatively normal lives.

Shteiman is a good example. The 22-year old University of Western Ontario history student suffered his first "tonic-clonic" (or grand mal) seizure -- an incident usually involving the entire body and loss of consciousness and muscle control -- about five years ago.

"It just happened one day, out of the blue," he says, snapping his fingers. "Just like that."

Shteiman was in his Toronto home one Sunday morning, getting ready to take a shower. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor, surrounded by his parents and paramedics.

Shteiman has since had four other seizures -- one while pumping gas during a long-distance drive, and another about a month ago while writing a mid-term test at Western.

Though epileptic seizures can vary from short staring spells to full-body convulsions, all of them are caused by a brief electrical disturbance in the brain.

Shteiman now takes medication twice a day to control his seizures. And he no longer drives. But overall, the young man insists his epilepsy is nothing to get worked up about.

"To me, it's not a big deal any more," he says.

"I've learned to deal with it. I mean, it's frustrating when it happens and it's had an impact on my life because of the precautions I have to take.

"But all in all, the message I'm preaching is that I'm pretty much the same as everyone else."

If you do see someone having a seizure, experts recommend you:

* Protect the person having the seizure by moving hard or sharp objects away and loosening tight neckwear

* Stay calm and let the seizure run its course (don't restrain the person)

* Roll the person onto their side to let fluids drain away

* Afterward, comfort and reassure the person, who likely will be disoriented.

On the rare occasion when a seizure lasts more than five minutes, call for medical help.
And remember -- a bad attitude can be more hurtful than a seizure.