A MUM whose son faces life-threatening seizures on a weekly basis says he is regularly abused by ignorant passers-by who should know better.
Julie Harden's 11-year-old son Elliot, who attends school in Lingfield, was diagnosed with complex epilepsy at the age of five – and has been called "scary boy" and "backwards" by cruel name-callers.
The concerned mother-of-two has chosen to speak out after the Lingfield-based charity Young Epilepsy carried out a study which found that 80 per cent of people in the South East agree that people with epilepsy are discriminated against – with more than a third admitting their behaviour would change if they knew someone had the neurological condition.
And the survey found that those with the condition can be branded "mad"" and "crazy" – something Mrs Harden knows only too well from bitter first hand experience. Elliot, a St Piers School pupil, suffers weekly life-threatening seizures, but doctors have said that he is not a candidate for brain surgery.
Mrs Harden, of Coldshott, Hurst Green, said: "I have had so many instances where it is clear people just don't understand what epilepsy is.
"People have said all sorts to me, and seeing the reaction on their face when they see Elliot is just awful.
"I sometimes wish that he had another disability rather than this one. There is still a stigma attached to it and it's horrible.
"Because he can't defend himself, I end up fighting for him and it causes a lot of tension."
She said Elliot has been called "scary boy", "backwards" and been asked questions like "does he have a brain?".
She added: "It is sad that in this day and age that people still think like that. Life is hard enough for children who have epilepsy, with the stigma that goes with it."
The research shows that, among children who have epileptic seizures, 41 per cent have been told they are sick, 42 per cent have been called mad or crazy, 29 per cent have been told it is contagious and 20 per cent have been accused of being possessed.
The research for the charity, which was carried out online by Opinion Matters between April and May this year, also revealed that 55 per cent of adults who suffer from epilepsy do not disclose to new people that they have the illness, for fear of discrimination.
David Ford, chief executive of Young Epilepsy, said: "These attitudes are outdated and it is time they stopped. We all have a duty to challenge our ignorance and misconceptions about the condition."
