It’s important for you to decide what is really most important for your child. Maybe it is the seizures. But maybe it isn’t. For some children the problems of mental retardation are far more important than the seizures themselves. For some children with cerebral palsy, mobility may be the principal problem. For parents of these children, UCP or the local ARC may provide the most important resources. If seizures are the central problem you may need to educate these organizations about epilepsy and about the special needs of children who have recurring seizures.For children whose seizures are the dominant disability and mental retardation, for example, is of lower priority, at least for now, parents have often had difficulty finding help. There has been a gap in support services for the multiple handicapped child who also has seizures. Fortunately, the Epilepsy Foundation of America has recognized this need and, as part of its recommitment to serving all families, is in the process of developing new programs to meet this need.The medical community also has failed to serve this population well. Developmental pediatricians trained to help manage the multiple problems of the disabled child and to help families find needed services frequently havs less expertise in epilepsy than other conditions. Further, neurologists or epileptologists who do specialize in treating children’s seizures often have inadequate expertise in managing family problems and in finding services. We need to develop better one-stop shopping for this comprehensive care. But until we do parents of a multi-handicapped child must continue to advocate and seek services with persistence and determination.*208\208\8*