BlankBy popular medical definition, a person who has more than two seizures,
brought about by an abnormal electrical discharge of brain cells, has
epilepsy.  My wife, who has seizures, however, is not an epileptic.  After
reading and re-reading the following, I came to the conclusion that labeling
a person as an epileptic, is no different than calling someone a racial
name, a high school drop-out, and so on - only the name is different.  It's
still a label inferring that the person is a second-class citizen, and of
lesser value than someone who is 'normal' or 'accepted'.  It also says 'you
are an epileptic first and all other values associated with you come
afterwards'.  While our close friends and family are sensitive to this,
other acquaintances & associates aren't.  When you refer to someone as an
epileptic, you're lowering their self-esteem and sabotaging their efforts to
maintain/regain control of their life.  Epilepsy has enough accompanying
difficulties - please don't compound those problems by using inappropriate
labels.
____________________________________________

                 Labeling is Disabling
"I'm not an epileptic! I'm a person with epilepsy! And don't you ever forget
it!" These words were flung at the Epilepsy Foundation's newly hired
executive director, David Blackwell, 20 years ago. And he's never forgotten
it. You can almost see him flinch when someone today calls a person an
epileptic.
This is not a matter of being "politically correct." People are
individuals - whether you have a disability or not - and people don't like
labels. Labels stereotype and are limiting. The board member who taught
Blackwell this lesson explained that "epilepsy is what I have, not what I
am." Instead of epileptic, say "person with epilepsy" or "child with
epilepsy." This places the focus on the whole person, not on just one
characteristic. As an adjective, "epileptic" is o.k. such as "anti-epileptic
medication."
Avoiding stereotyping and showing a bit of sensitivity demonstrates common
respect. Other inappropriate terms or usages may include fit, control,
disease. "Fit" is commonly used to describe seizures in Canada and other
English-speaking countries of the Commonwealth. In the U.S., the connotation
of fit is mental derangement or loss of emotional control or symptoms of
rabies. "Seizure" is preferred to "fit."
Seizures are controlled with medication; persons with epilepsy are not. And
lastly, epilepsy is a disorder rather than a disease. It is a symptom of an
underlying cause(s) that can affect the brain. Not all seizures are epilepsy
and many people prefer to call epilepsy a seizure disorder, avoiding the
stigma that may be associated with that term. It is important to know that
the diagnosis is "epilepsy," however, since a great deal more information
will be found in the encyclopedia under "epilepsy" than under "seizure
disorder."
It may be a difficult habit to break but these simple tips will demonstrate
a caring attitude.

http://www.epilepsyidaho.org/labeling.htm

The Toyman