ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Not many things can match the energy of a rambunctious preschooler. Most of them love to play games, running around and riding bikes at the risk of falling down.
Most of the time, they stand right back up and start playing again. However, when they fall, preschoolers risk developing a head injury which can lead to epilepsy. So, the Epilepsy Foundation of East Tennessee gave 55 fitted helmets to students at Anderson County Schools' Preschool to protect them.
The foundation gives out over 36,000 helmets of a year, according to Paula Ellis, the education coordinator. It mostly works to connect people in East Tennessee with resources to help them live with epilepsy and help others with the disorder.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes seizures, causing people to lose consciousness and putting them in dangerous situations. Head injuries during early childhood can cause someone to have epilepsy for the rest of their lives.
The group also runs the Human Epilepsy Project, which collects information about people with epilepsy to better understand how challenging it can be to live with seizures.
