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Lorianna hitting a ball off the tee.

Can children with epilepsy participate in sports? Should children with epilepsy participate in sports? As parents we are told to allow our children to live as normal a life as possible. Don’t let epilepsy control your life. So what happens when your child comes up to you and asks to play football, baseball, or soccer? What about if your child wants to do cheerleading, karate or gymnastics? How do you know when or if you child should participate in sports?

Lorianna on the Balance Beam

First of all, you have to take into consideration safety. Always, first and foremost, in your mind is safety, whether your child is epileptic or not, however there is another thing parents of epileptic children have to think about. That is possible falls or head injuries. Any impact sport where the head could be hit or injured should be avoided at all costs. Some of these sports are football, boxing, wrestling or ice hockey. So what about everything else? How can epileptic children stay safe while playing sports?

Lorianna’s cheer team

Before an epileptic child is allowed to participate in any sport, parents should do research. What are the risks involved in this sport? Looking at specific triggers a child may have, will this sport be a trigger of seizures? Call and talk to the person in charge of registration for the sport and find out if they feel the child would be safe if a seizure were to happen. Talk to the coaches at the first practice and let them know that the child is epileptic and let them know anything they need to watch for or be aware of. And of course, as the parent, be observant. You can always get a coaches attention if there is a concern while the child is out on the field or in the gym.

Lorianna posing for the camera before competition

There are certain proactive things that you and the coaches can do to help keep the children safe. For example, if the child is in gymnastics, no matter how good they are on the high bars or balance beam, always have a spotter within arms reach in case of seizure or fall. In cheerleading, it wouldn’t be safe for an epileptic child whose seizures are not well controlled to be a flier. If they had a seizure in the air, it would be hard for the bases to get them down quickly and safely. In baseball, where they are playing outside on the field, making sure that an epileptic child stays cool and hydrated is important. And if the child is sick, has been sick or has a fever, keeping them home would be the safest thing to do. Since sickness can cause the seizure threshold to drop, it wouldn’t be a good idea for a child to be out running the bases or walking across a balance beam while they are sick. And just imagine an epileptic child in cheerleading acting as a base for a flier and going into a seizure. That could have drastic consequences. So being smart about when it’s okay for your child to attend practices or games/competitions is a good idea. It’s always great if you have a caring and understanding coach, because it makes things so much easier when your child has to miss due to appointments or days when your child is actively seizing. And like with everything else, communication is the key to a successful sports experience.

So for parents who are on the fence about letting their epileptic child participate in sports, don’t hold them back, allow them to live a normal life. Don’t let epilepsy run your life or your child’s life. It’s all about being smart and doing research ahead of time, knowing what is safe and what to avoid and if in question, contact your neurologist to get the final word about whether something is okay or not. Let your child be a child as much as possible, because they only get that experience once in their life.