Epilepsy Center

The Future of Pediatric Epilepsy Care is Happening Now

Epilepsy Center

Comprehensive pediatric epilepsy care requires unique specialists, leading technology and a multidisciplinary team. At the Epilepsy Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, we take it to the highest level. That’s why the National Association of Epilepsy Centers has accredited us as a level-four epilepsy program—the highest level of epilepsy care.

In addition to standard services, we provide complex neurodiagnostic monitoring as well as neuropsychological and psychosocial evaluation and treatment. Our level-four designation also means offering advanced epilepsy surgery services, including evaluation with intracranial electrodes.

US News Badge Neurology and Neurosurgery

Nationwide Children's Hospital is ranked by U.S. News & World Report for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

Request an Appointment Refer a Patient
About
Services We Offer
Our Team
Treatment
Patient Stories
Resources

NAEC Level 4 Epilepsy CenterLevel 4 Epilepsy Program

Nationwide Children's has been designated by NAEC as a Level 4 Epilepsy Program. Find out why that's important to your child's care.

Benefits of Level 4 Epilepsy Center Care

Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

Broad range of surgical procedures for epilepsy

●

 

 

 

Electrocorticography

●

 

 

 

Evoked potential recording

●

 

 

 

Functional cortical mapping with subdural electrodes

●

 

 

 

Intracranial evaluations

●

 

 

 

Specialized neuroimaging (PET, SPECT)

●

●

 

 

Pediatric epileptologists

●

●

 

 

Implantation of vagus nerve stimulators

●

●

 

 

Straightforward respective epilepsy surgery

●

●

 

 

Noninvasive evaluation for epilepsy surgery

●

●

 

 

Basic neurodiagnostic evaluation

●

●

 

 

Basic range of medical, neuro-psychological and psychosocial care

●

●

 

 

General neurology

●

●

●

 

Primary care physician, hospital emergency department

●

●

●

●

National Association of Epilepsy Centers "Guidelines for essential services, personnel and facilities in specialized epilepsy centers." 2010 Jan 12. The National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved from www.naec-epilepsy.org.

Level 4 Epilepsy Center Chart

Learn More

Services We Offer

Advanced Epilepsy Technology

We use the latest technological advancements to diagnose epilepsy. Our video telemetry unit incorporates continuous EEG monitoring with simultaneous digital video recordings to timelock clinical events to the EEG. For children with intractable seizures, EEG recordings directly from the surface of the brain are available to map discrete lesions for possible surgical resection.

Diagnostic Studies

  • Routine digital video EEG
  • Round-the-clock, long-term video EEG monitoring in a unit specifically designed for children
  • Evoked potentials
  • Functional MRI and WADA studies for evaluating regions of eloquent cortex
  • MRI with spectroscopy and diffusion analysis
  • PET (positron emission tomography)
  • SPECT (single photon emission computerized tomography)

Our Team 

A major distinction of a level-four epilepsy center is the comprehensive nature of its services and professional team. We evaluate and care for children from the onset of seizures, through therapeutic interventions, and advanced epilepsy surgery when appropriate. Pediatric professionals include:

  • Pediatric Neurologists/Epileptologists
  • Pediatric Neuropsychologists/Psychologists
  • Pediatric Neurosurgeons
  • Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
  • Child Life Specialists
  • Clinical Pharmacists
  • Epilepsy Foundation Educators
  • Neurodiagnostic Technicians
  • Neuroradiologists
  • Nuclear Medicine Specialists
  • Pathologists
  • Social Workers

Meet Our Epilepsy Center Team

Advanced Epilepsy Treatments

  • Anticonvulsant drug evaluations and recommendations
  • Epilepsy surgery
  • Ketogenic diet
  • Participation in drug trials of new or difficult to obtain anticonvulsant medications
  • Surgical evaluations
  • Vagal nerve stimulation and programming

Meet Our Patients

Macy L

Read Macy's Story

Name: Macy L.
Condition(s): Epilepsy
Age Today: 12 Years

Macy was just one years old when she was transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital because she suffered a seizure that lasted over 30 minutes. Later, she had febrile seizures that were outside of normal standards and has since developed epilepsy.

Epilepsy Patient Hailey

Read Hailey's Story

Name: Hailey
Condition(s): Epilepsy
Age Today: 12 Years

Hailey had her first seizure when she was just 18 months old. By the time she was a toddler, she was having 30 to 40 seizures a day.

Roger Michael A

Read Roger Michael's Story

Name: Roger Michael A.
Condition(s): Epilepsy, Developmental Delay
Age Today: 15 Years

When Mikey was 17-months-old, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. That day he began his journey of many therapies and treatments for his condition and developmental delays at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Brionna F

Read Brionna's Story

Name: Brionna F.
Condition(s): Epilepsy
Age Today: 16 Years

Brionna’s epilepsy symptoms started when she was only 6 months old. She has multiple seizure types. Brionna has been fighting a very tough battle not only because of the seizures but also because of the medications she has been on to try to control them.

Garrett

Read Garrett's Story

Name: Garrett
Condition(s): Epilepsy

Garrett is a 14-year-old boy who wants to live a normal life. When he was three years old, he received the diagnosis of drug resistant epilepsy. Despite medication, this condition caused Garrett to have seizures daily, mostly at night, which put him at a higher risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

Read More Patient Stories

Resources 

Epilepsy Toolkit 

Our free myChildren’s mobile application with the Epilepsy Toolkit allows you to add and track medications for each individual child, set reminders for each medication, log your child’s seizures, and more.

Download for iOS | Download for Android

Social Media

Connect with our team on Facebook.

Epilepsy Support Organizations

Inside the Epilepsy Center

Level 4 Epilepsy Program

The National Association of Epilepsy Centers has accredited the Epilepsy Center at Nationwide Children’s as a Level 4 epilepsy program, a designation reserved for programs offering the highest level of comprehensive and specialized care.

New Onset Seizure Clinic

The New Onset Seizure Clinic focuses on the educational and psychosocial needs of the child and the family when they have encountered a first seizure or a new diagnosis of epilepsy.

Complex Epilepsy Clinic

The Complex Epilepsy Clinic works with patients and their families to identify treatment options when they are not eligible for surgery and have not become seizure-free after being on at least two different medications. 

Epilepsy Surgery

Surgical Epilepsy services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital involves an array of multidisciplinary specialists to care for the clinical, surgical and psychosocial needs of children with difficult to control epilepsy.

Infantile Spasms Program

The Infantile Spasms Program works to treat spasms are seizures commonly associated with West syndrome, a severe infantile epileptic encephalopathy often accompanied by poor developmental outcomes.

Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Events

Psychogenic non-epileptic events are episodes of change in behavior that resemble epileptic seizures but are not caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

Seizure Information for Parents

Your child had a seizure. What do you do now? Learn more about safety, treatment and tips on living with seizures and epilepsy. 

Ketogenic Diet

Patients who have seizures that are difficult to treat may benefit from a ketogenic diet, which is a high-fat, adequate-protein and low-carbohydrate dietary program.

Epilepsy Research

Investigators at Nationwide Children’s Hospital are studying how epilepsy impacts children’s psychosocial skills and long-term outcomes of children following epilepsy surgery.

Locations

Find the Neurology Clinic closest to you.

Your Visit

We know coming to a hospital can be stressful. We're here to help. Access information and resources to support your family. 

Related Specialties

Young Girl Smiling in Hospital Bed

Epilepsy Surgery
Young Girl in Hospital Bed with Stuffed Animal

Neurosurgery
Teenage Boy Sitting Outdoors

Neurology

What's Happening at Nationwide Children's

Pediacast
Podcast

PediaCast 256: All About Seizures & Epilepsy

Dr. Anup Patel joins Dr. Mike in the Pediacast Studio for a nuts and bolts approach to seizures and epilepsy.