Student Research Symposium Program Portal: Submission #249

Abstract Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that is infamous in its severity. Health organizations such as the Center for Disease Control have their own specific classifications of the disorder. For the regular, normal brain function is found when electrical charges pass from the brain to other regions of the body. However, an individual afflicted with epilepsy finds that their own electrical charges are irregular in nature with increased intensity. This explanation seems almost blasé in its sterile diction, but the true nature of epilepsy is one of unadulterated danger. The media often dramatizes the horror of such an experience for cheap gag appeal utilizing explicit severity. They put on display the hands as they gnarl and draw blood from clenched fists. The way the body slams and writhes on the floor, splintering its own fragile bones. They delightedly keep filming, amazed at the realisticness of their own special effects, as foam spills from the lips and the eyes roll and cloud. They are given solace in the fact that for them, this facade holds no more danger than a work of scary fiction. The problem lies in that for many, this very real condition reaches its ugly hands past this supposed fiction and into present and daily life. Therefore, it is important to consider to what extent federally implemented support programs are helpful to people with epilepsy in places where the condition is especially prevalent.