Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Conference 2026

Kids healing from concussions or brain surgery often face hidden struggles with balance and vision. These issues can make it hard to focus in class, keep up on the playground, or even walk around safely. This session covers what these signs look like, why doctors sometimes miss them, and how families can get the right testing and therapy to help their child recover.If you've ever felt "sea legs" after getting off a boat or felt dizzy after spinning in circles, you've experienced these systems in action.

Terms and phrases that will be discussed in this session:

1. Vestibular (The Balance System)
Think of the vestibular system as your body’s internal GPS and level. It is located in the inner ear and tells your brain where your head is in space.

• What it does: It helps you keep your balance while walking on uneven ground and tells you if you are moving up, down, or sideways.
• When it’s "off": A child might feel dizzy, nauseated, or unsteady. They might seem clumsy or get motion sickness more easily than usual.

2. Oculomotor (The Eye-Movement System)
"Oculo" means eye, and "motor" means movement. This system involves the muscles and nerves that allow your eyes to work together as a team.

• What it does: It allows you to track a moving ball, shift your gaze from a notebook up to a whiteboard, and read a line of text without losing your place.
• When it’s "off": A child might see double, experience blurry vision, or get headaches when reading. They might "skip" lines while reading or find it exhausting to look at screens or bright lights.

Session times are placeholders for now. Final times will be set once we confirm clinician schedules.

Some children and young adults have hearing-related challenges after epilepsy surgery even when their basic hearing is normal. This session will explore how epilepsy surgery can affect auditory processing, including understanding speech, following directions, processing sound in noisy settings, and keeping up in school or daily life. Families will learn what signs to watch for, how these issues are evaluated, and what supports may help at home, in therapy, and in the classroom.

Session times are placeholders for now. Final times will be set once we confirm clinician schedules.

For siblings ages 8-12 only. 20 children max. Sorry, no exceptions. 

Celebrate the unique, complex, and vital role of being a sibling to a child with a disability. This 2-hour Sibshops session is a dynamic workshop that recognizes the “real” sibling experience - the good, the tough, and everything in between. We believe siblings are each other’s best resource, so we’ve designed a nurturing, fun, kids-only environment where siblings can connect, reflect on their experiences, and support one another. Through a mix of games and peer-led discussions, participants find community and fun in equal measure. 

We gratefully acknowledge the Vernick family, whose generous donation made this workshop possible.

After epilepsy surgery, many children have vision changes like hemianopia, CVI-related characteristics, eye movement problems, or visual fatigue that can make school and daily life harder. This session will explain these issues in plain language and focus on practical tools and strategies.

We’ll look at common situations (reading, copying from the board, moving around safely, using screens) and explore environmental changes, low- to high-tech tools and questions you can bring to your child’s IEP or school team You’ll leave with concrete ideas and language to help you advocate for the vision supports and assistive tools that fit your child and your family.

For families navigating a complex medical journey, life can often feel like a never-ending cycle of clinical appointments. Many parents carry "therapy guilt," the heavy feeling that if their child isn’t in a formal therapy session, they aren't making progress. This session is an invitation to reclaim childhood and shift the perspective from the clinic to the community.

Join us for a dynamic discussion on how "functional gains" often occur most naturally outside the hospital walls. Learn how accessible play, communication, and adaptive recreation provide the ultimate stage for social-emotional well-being. We will dive into how to ensure our children have a true voice in social settings and how the right tools and environments unlock a world of participation and belonging. Whether it’s a Saturday at an adaptive sports event or a community social club, we want to show you that these moments aren't just "breaks" from therapy; they are where skills come to life.

Our speakers will discuss:

• How neurologists purposefully choose anti-seizure medications (ASMs) that can pull double-duty by also improving sleep or behavior, and how they avoid medications that make irritability or night-waking worse. For children who are not on ASMs, our speakers will explain how they safely introduce medications for sleep or behavior without lowering the seizure threshold or triggering new seizures.
• How to safely choose and combine medications to manage anxiety, depression, attention issues, and executive functioning deficits without disrupting seizure control.
• Common challenges that arise during the transition from pediatric to adult neurology, including what happens when adult providers are more hesitant to prescribe or manage ADHD and other psychiatric medications that were started in childhood.

You will leave with practical tips on how to track symptoms, what information to bring to appointments, how to know when to bring up your concerns, and what questions to ask so you can confidently partner with your neurology team to help your child thrive.

The main goal of epilepsy surgery is to stop or reduce seizures. However, keeping your child comfortable and able to move well is just as important to their independence. Large resective surgeries (such as frontal lobectomy, hemispherectomy, or TPO resection) can affect how a child walks, sits, and balances. Often, these physical changes don't appear until years later, when a child hits a growth spurt or starts puberty.
In this session, we will discuss:

• What to watch for: How to spot tight muscles (spasticity), stiff joints (contractures), or changes in how your child sits and walks.
• Managing growth: Why growth spurts and puberty can make movement harder and how to plan for "big" transitions, like moving across a large school campus.
• Building your care team: When to see a physiatrist, orthopedist, orthotist, or seating specialist.
• Practical tools: How bracing, Botox, and assistive devices can help home, school, and the community.
• Transitioning to Adulthood: Preparing teenagers to manage their own physical health.

You’ll leave with a clear plan to help your child stay active, comfortable, and independent as they grow into adulthood.