Blog #232: Autism and Epilepsy

When Autism Self-Advocate and Public Speaker David Sharif died this weekend of a seizure, it brought attention to something that is a silent killer within the community: epileptic seizures.

…

Seizures, as it turns out, is one of the major killers of neurodiverse individuals. As the picture above says: 30 to 50 percent of the neurodiverse population are on the autism spectrum. That gives 30 to 50 percent of families more fear and worry than what they already have because having epilepsy can be extremely unpredictable.

As I have said before, I like predictability. But I get the fact that unpredictability comes in a variety of ways. Some of it can be good, some of it can be bad and death certainly doesn’t like predictability.

I think the important issue that many autism and neurodiversity organizations need to take into account is the fact that epilepsy is a silent killer and that there needs to be more awareness.

…

30% of patients with Autism have epilepsy. 30% of patients with epilepsy have Autism. Highest risk for Autism is seen in those whose seizures that start in the 1st year of life. Risk for epilepsy in children with Autism is higher in those with greater intellectual disability, symptomatic vs. unknown cause, and history of regression % of patients with Autism have EEG abnormalities. Epilepsy in autism confers increased mortality.

Some of the most well-known autism/neurodiversity community leaders just happen to have epilepsy and are prone to seizures. They can explain to you that seizures do not stop because they have enough on their plates of life. Seizures don’t care how well known you are, whether you are known or unknown in life, they can strike and when they do, they strike hard.

I can only hope that David’s death can make people more aware of this silent killer and that more precautions are taken to reduce the risk of dying young. We all want to live full and healthy lives and I’ll be damned if you think otherwise.

…

Catch you all later!!

#Seizures #Epilepsy #Diversity #Disability #Health #Neurodiversity #Equality #SpecialEducation #Autism #Education #Inclusion