A seizure occurs when there’s abnormal electrical activity in one or more parts of the brain. Seizures may be caused by genetic disorders, congenital brain malformations, lack of oxygen to the brain, head trauma or other illnesses. When your child has seizures, they can be stressful for everyone involved. Epilepsy affects every aspect of a child’s life and everyone in it.  

Types of Epilepsy Syndromes 

There are many types of pediatric epilepsy (epilepsy syndromes), and each can cause different types of seizures and symptoms. An epilepsy syndrome is a collection of similar characteristics, such as type of seizure, age of onset and specific pattern on an electroencephalogram (EEG). 

Syndromes range from mild to severe. Some examples include: 

• Childhood absence epilepsy 
• Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies 
• Dravet syndrome 
• Infantile spasms  
• Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy 
• Lennox-Gastaut syndrome