Seizure charts

A seizure chart is recommended for people with developmental disability with epilepsy to facilitate reporting and recording of seizures. Parents or carers should record all seizures that occur, including those at school, day programs and on home visits. The seizure chart should be taken to each medical consultation.

The seizure chart should:

• be simple and quick to complete and peruse
• omit unnecessary information
• include a legend that describes the person’s typical seizures (ie a simple description of what the seizure looks like, rather than using medical terms)
• include a nickname and letter or symbol for each seizure type (if there is more than one) that can be entered next to the date on which that seizure type occurs.

If a seizure differs from the description in the legend, it should be described in detail and reported to the treating doctor.