We are delighted to have published a new resource for parents living with epilepsy to help explain the condition to their toddlers or young children. The resource has been written by a parent living with epilepsy and one of our media volunteers, Nicole McCarthy.
Nicole was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2016 and when her daughter Amelia was two years old, Nicole realised that it was difficult to speak to her about what was happening to her when she had a seizure.
This led to Nicole explaining her seizures as brain hiccups, helping Amelia understand what was happening to her and helping her learn more about epilepsy. Nicole, recognising that other parents with epilepsy may have the same difficulty, approached the Epilepsy Ireland team about producing this a short story and on reading the piece that Nicole prepared, we could instantly see how this may be beneficial for parents with epilepsy in explaining their seizures to toddlers and young children. The publication of the new resource comes during National Epilepsy Week 2025 – three years after Nicole shared her story of life with epilepsy for National Epilepsy Week 2022 – in which she first mentioned “brain hiccups", an excerpt of which is below:
Together, we made the decision to try and explain it to her in a way she could understand. We sat her down and explained to her that sometimes Mammy's brain gets the hiccups. We told her that if that happened not to panic and to just sit near mammy until it stopped. Or if Daddy was home to go get Daddy. And that is what she does. Usually after the seizure stops, she attempts to wake me by rubbing my hair or kissing my cheek.
You can look back on her story by visiting the National Epilepsy Week page on our website, while the new resource can be read and downloaded at the end of this article. Printed copies are available on request by contacting info@epilepsy.ie.
Thank you to Nicole and Amelia for producing this story which we hope will help many parents with epilepsy across Ireland and beyond. A huge thank you also to Philip Elliott for masterfully illustrating the story and for bringing the book version of Amelia to life!
Remember – whether you are living with epilepsy or supporting a loved one with the condition, our services are here for you. If you need any information or support about epilepsy or want to learn more about the services we offer, get in touch with your local Community Resource Officer. You can find their details on the ‘Our Local Services’ section page of our website.
Together, we can achieve a society where no person’s life is limited by epilepsy.