Dawn Perrault鈥檚 son was nine months old when he had his first epileptic seizure.

Needless to say, the episode was alarming to her and her husband, and left them with endless questions.

鈥淚t was a shock, quite horrifying,鈥� Perrault said. There is no history of epilepsy in the family.

Nathan is now four years old, and although he is well-functioning, his development has been delayed by a year as a result of the impact the seizures have had on his brain.

Perrault describes epileptic seizures as 鈥渁n electrical storm in the brain.鈥� Affecting the brain to varying degrees, they can last for up to 45 minutes. As a result of Nalthan鈥檚 episodes, some electrical connections in his brain have failed to form.

The Centre for Epilepsy in B.C. has been invaluable to the Perraults, and on Wednesday, Oct. 12, it will host a workshop that will prove useful to anyone who needs answers to the condition.

Helping Overcome Perceptions of Epilepsy (H.O.P.E.) is a interactive multimedia workshop which will take place at the Walnut Grove  Community Centre from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The workshop is for anyone with epilepsy or knows an epileptic. It will define and discuss epilepsy, help participants to understand terminology, first aid, medical emergencies, manage medications, learn how to avoid 鈥榖reak-through seizures鈥�, and  triggers for seizures. The workshop will also explain the ketogenic diet, which is a treatment regimen for people who have severe seizure disorders that don鈥檛 generally respond to conventional medicine.

The H.O.P.E. program delivers standardized, accurate information about epilepsy and follows best practice guidelines established by The Canadian Epilepsy Alliance.  To register, call 1-888-9 SEIZURE.