How is epilepsy diagnosed?

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes recurring, unprovoked seizures. Seizures can occur at any age, but epilepsy most commonly becomes evident by age 10.

If you think your child is having seizures, you will need to see a pediatric neurologist, and preferably a pediatric epileptologist to conduct an EEG and analyze the results. If you are unable to make an appointment with a specialist, your pediatrician can also order an EEG. If seizure activity is evident, this will alert the neurology team that your child needs to be seen as soon as possible. Also, if you believe your child is having frequent seizures, especially tonic clonic seizures, you can go to the emergency room to obtain testing and, if needed, be connected with the neurology team sooner.

An EEG is an important part of getting an epilepsy diagnosis. Even with video evidence, a pediatric neurologist or epileptologist cannot make a diagnosis unless your child has an EEG, a medical test used to measure electrical activity in the brain. An EEG may take a few hours or up to three days in the hospital so that the proper data can be collected. You can also have EEGs done at home.

Genetic conditions can play a role in epilepsy. It’s believed that around 30–40% of epilepsy cases have a genetic cause. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends genetic testing if the epilepsy started before the age of two years.

If doctors can’t find a cause, the likelihood of outgrowing epilepsy is much higher than if doctors do find a cause. However, if the child has a co-occurring neurological diagnosis, like cerebral palsy or intellectual disability, then they have a lower likelihood of outgrowing their epilepsy.