In the lead up to International Epilepsy Day on February 10th, our colleagues in the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) sought virtual art submissions from across the globe highlighting the lived experience of Epilepsy.
We were delighted to see a number of submissions made from children living with epilepsy from Ireland featured in the final exhibition.
The children featured are all attendees of our Get ChARTy offering. This online group allows 8–12-year old's living with epilepsy to meet with other children with epilepsy of a similar age to have a chat - and do some art at the same time.
Get ChARTy is facilitated by Nichola Mooney alongside our Youth Resource Officer (YRO), Agnieszka Polak. The event allows those in attendance to get to know each other while getting creative, with Nichola and Agnieszka facilitating and encouraging conversations to help them better understand themselves and realise that their epilepsy is not a barrier to doing all the things they want to do in life.
The recent virtual art submission was a fantastic opportunity for the Get ChARTy kids to show their creativity to the world, with many focusing their submissions on their lived experience of epilepsy and those three vital words associated with seizure management - TIME, SAFE, STAY.
You can see the submissions made by the Get ChARTy kids in the video below, while the entire global submission can be found by visiting the ‘International Epilepsy Day’ website.
Our Get ChARTy group is part of our Young Epilepsy Programme, which aims to make young people more aware of the importance of the self-management of their condition which should help can lead to an improved quality of life in the future. You can learn more about the Young Epilepsy Programme by visiting the ‘Our Services’ section of our website.
If you need any support with your or your loved one’s epilepsy, please do not hesitate to contact your local Community Resource Officer. You can find their details by visiting the ‘Our Local Services’ page on our website.
Well done to all the Get ChARTy kids for their fantastic submissions!