Being told you or someone you love has epilepsy is never easy. Like many people I can’t remember having a seizure. I have to be told what happened.  I started searching for reasons why this had happened to me. Had I done something wrong? My mum asked herself if she had been a bad mother. Why now? Why me?

My name is Yvette Spedding, I am a MA Broadcast Journalism student at the University of Central Lancashire.

My main question was and is why do the general public know so little about epilepsy?

I hope to change this by informing the public about epilepsy through creating a short documentary as part of my Masters degree. To do this I will need your help.

I need to hear other people’s stories to understand the range of experiences we each have. What is it like to have an unseen disability?

Perhaps you haven’t yet been diagnosed and are still undergoing tests waiting to see the doctor. Maybe you’ve just been told and are trying to come to terms with it. Or perhaps you have had epilepsy for many years.

Are you willing to share your experiences with me? Would you mind me filming you in your daily life?

I want to make it as real as possible while demonstrating that there is no one type or one cure. I want to hear the questions that cross your mind as you come to terms with having epilepsy. I also want to hear from your friends and family and how they are affected. Perhaps your teacher or parent noticed you staring a lot and didn’t think anything of it until you fell to the floor one day.

Some people are born with epilepsy, some (like me) get it in teenage years and some develop it later on in life. I hope to demonstrate this by having a couple main characters in my documentary.

You may be a teenager still at school wondering when to tell the new friends you’ve made. Wondering if you will ever drive a car and if you can still have the same big dreams for your future. Perhaps you’re more determined than ever to get that dream job.

You may be older and contemplating having an operation to control your seizures.

You may have already had an operation and want to share your experience to encourage others.

You may even be like Olympic athlete Dai Greene who decided not to take the conventional medication route but find other ways to stay seizure free.

Whatever your story, if you live in Britain and are willing to be part of this documentary please get in touch. This could be the greatest way of raising awareness and change the publics understanding of epilepsy.

I aim to begin filming in a few weeks/October at the latest.

If you are interested in getting involved in the documentary you can contact me on my email address - yvettespedding@gmail.com

Thanks, Yvette.