Why Us?

Many children with epilepsy improve dramatically with medication, but others do not respond at all. Since medications do not cure the seizures, they grow up with them. As a result, they become adults with intractable epilepsy. Depending on the severity of their condition, many of them experience difficulty in school, are unable to succeed in the workplace or even get a driver’s license. Their independence is severely restricted, and their quality of life plummets as a result.

People with epilepsy (and those raising children with the condition) often don’t get the education or support they need. This is especially true for people with intractable epilepsy who do not respond to medication and experience frequent seizures. Others require so many medications, their brain function is impaired.

Breakthroughs in treatment being done right here, at Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s, are transforming the lives of patients young and old–even those with intractable epilepsy.

Proud to be the Valley's only Level 4 Epilepsy Center

Barrow at Phoenix Children's is recognized by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers as a Level 4 epilepsy center. Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest-level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy. Children who haven't responded to two or more medications should be referred to a Pediatric Epilepsy Center for evaluation.

We treat patients with hypothalamic hamartomas

We have the only program for evaluating and treating pediatric patients with hypothalamic hamartomas in the United States. We're one of the leading programs in the world for hypothalamic hamartoma research, including the development of innovative surgical therapies for this rare and disabling disorder.