Young Epilepsy’s website has been developed alongside young people to offer a range of tailored online support, video blogging and advice around the Covid-19 pandemic.
A charity supporting young people with epilepsy has launched an online support platform, with a strong focus on offering video content advice from young people on tackling Covid-19 lockdown.
The launch of Young Epilepsy’s online platform, called The Channel, comes as the Covid-19 pandemic dramatically impacts all aspects of life of those with epilepsy, including their healthcare.
The content has been developed with support of the charity’s young representatives group and features diary style video blogs from young people about their isolation experience.
There are 112,000 young people with epilepsy in the UK, a group that is four times more likely than their peers to experience mental health problems.
The Channel also offers tailored content to young visitors through predictive text, age filtering, a choice of emojis and information about how well managed their condition is.
The aim is provide engaging content to young people with epilepsy, who believe that most existing online advice is too focused on parents and adults with the condition.
Other video footage looks at myth-busting around epilepsy.
Young people featured include 20-year old Annie, who said: “Having seen all the thought and care that’s gone into creating The Channel, I know there’s plenty of information and support there that is easy to access and makes far more sense than some jargon you might hear from your doctor.
“It’s really reassuring to know that now thousands of young people like me are going to have a hand to hold onto in their times of need.”
Mark Devlin, Young Epilepsy Chief Executive, added: “Whilst seizures are the most widely recognised symptom of epilepsy, young people can face wide-ranging challenges with associated issues such as mental health, learning and sleep, as well as social inclusion and support throughout education.
“These challenges impact significantly on their well-being, educational attainment and employment and are all areas that The Channel is designed to help them address.”