Eight-year-old Brittany Elizabeth Teller of Westbury has been named "2003 Winning Kid" by the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island. Teller is a bright, active and outgoing third grader at the Bowling Green Elementary School in Westbury. She takes piano, dance and swimming lessons and is a member of Girl Scouts.

No one would ever know that Brittany has Benign Rolandic Epilepsy, which began for her at the age of 4. Benign Rolandic Epilepsy (BRE) is an epileptic syndrome of childhood characterized by partial seizures occurring during sleep, or just before waking in Brittany's case, and involving the face and tongue.

Luckily, Brittany's neurologist, Dr. Arnold P. Gold of Columbia University, has been able to find an anti-convulsant medication that has been successful in keeping her seizure free for almost a full year now. BRE is usually outgrown by the age of 16, so the future does look very bright for Brittany. Dr. Gold describes Brittany as a "remarkable youngster who has not allowed epilepsy to interfere with her activities." He credits Brittany's teachers, parents and above all, Brittany's motivation for her success.

One of the big problems with epilepsy is that people who have it often feel as if, and are treated as if, they are different from other people. This can be very difficult to deal with.

Brittany's parents, however, feel that she is a stronger person because of her epilepsy. "She has overcome the barrier of feeling different. She now takes pride in telling other kids and adults about epilepsy," said Brittany's mother, Joyce.

Brittany has conducted forums with her classmates and teachers explaining her condition and answering questions. She plans on doing more of these forums in the fourth and fifth grades. Another way that she has overcome feeling different was feeling special about collecting donations for the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island last year. She plans on continuing to do this in the future.

In Brittany's words, "To have epilepsy means to be a little different. But to be different doesn't bother me. I can teach people about epilepsy. I can answer questions in my class. I can even teach my teacher about it."

Epilepsy is a disorder of the central nervous system that is characterized by, sometimes uncontrollable, seizures. It affects people of all nations and all races. It can develop at any time of life but one third of the 125,000 new cases each year begin in childhood. About 1 percent of the population, now about 30,000 people on Long Island, has epilepsy. In more than 70 percent of the cases, no cause can be found and there is currently no cure.

For further information about epilepsy or the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island, call June Lipsky at 739-7733, ext. 140.