The Boston Children's Hospital Epilepsy Genetics Program sees a wide range of patients, including:
- Children and families with known or suspected genetic epilepsy syndromes
- Children with genetic variants of uncertain significance that require further evaluation, parental testing and/or genetic counseling
Program director Heather Olson, MD, MS, and our team’s physicians perform pediatric epilepsy genetic consultations, while our licensed genetic counselors take detailed, syndrome-specific family histories and provide pre- and post-test genetic counseling.
Consultations last from one to two hours and will include the following:
- Review of your child’s previous medical, family and treatment history
- Review of your child’s genetic testing history and results
- Discussion of potential treatments for epilepsy, including any recommended therapies based on underling genetic cause that might be available
- Genetic counseling, including discussion of inheritance of epilepsy, implications for other family members, and the potential benefits and limitations of genetic testing
- Discussion of emotional aspects of caring for a child with special needs and/or sources of information and support
- Discussion of potential research opportunities, if interested and applicable
If you have any questions about scheduling an appointment in the Epilepsy Genetics Program Clinic, please call us at 617-919-6917 or contact our program coordinator directly at NeurogeneticsProgram@childrens.harvard.edu.