My daughter is about to finish kindergarten. Since she has started, she has been on 4 different meds for epilepsy, currently on Lamictal (seems to be working-knock on wood). Excluding all the other side effects that she has displayed, a constant has been a strange learning disablity. Her teacher, who has been unbelievably supportive, is stumped. Im not really looking for a label (though that would be nice) but maybe some advice.

She seems to understand something one minute and then its gone the next. One example is that she learned how to count to 100 at the start of the year. We did it ALL THE TIME! She was great at it. Then we were talking about it the other day and she couldnt get past 30. Its like she forgot how to count, almost like she was learning it for the first time. Its hard for her because she knows she knew it at one point. She does this with her reading too. One minute she knows a word she read and two pages later its like shes never seen it before.

It seemed to me like a common sense connection to epilepsy. Its a misfiring in the brain and this is an easy way to describe her difficulty in learning. Im sure I am over simplifying but I was wondering if anyone else had a simular experience.

Thank you.

Hi Concernedmom,

Take my word I started having seizures when I was in 6th grade at the age of 10 and then my learning went down hill and it was because of all the AED's my neuro had me on. I was exhausted and found it hard to focus when my teacher was speaking to the class. After I got off of 5 AED's and was only on 2 I was much better.
If I may ask does your daughter use a cell phone or are there others around her at school that are using them? The reason why I'm asking is because cell phone use can shrink the hippocampus of a persons brain causing short term memory loss and it can trigger seizures for people who are cell phone sensitive which means when others are using a cell phone even as far as 100 ft. away it can trigger seizures. This is what has happened to me. I work in public school and when to many staff are using cell phones the seizures start and it's all do to the frequency the cell phone is in.
Ask your daughter what subject she likes the most Math, or English when a person is doing math and Science they are using the left side of the brain and when they are doing English, History, Music, or writing they are using the right side of the brain. If your daughter is having a hard time in Math more than English it could mean that there's more activity on the left side of her brain causing the seizures and making it harder for her to concentrate.
I wish you and your family the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue