26/03/2026
Today is Purple Day or otherwise known as Epilepsy Awareness Day! To mark the day, we interviewed the wonderful Dr Rebecca Wilson, one of our Clinical Psychologists Neuropsychology here in the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children! 💜👇
‘⭐What is your role here in BRHC? (What do you do, what are your responsibilities, what does your average day look like?)
I am a Clinical Psychologist in the Paediatric Neuropsychology Service. My main role is supporting children, young people and their families, through the epilepsy surgery pathway. I work closely with the wider epilepsy surgery team, so that psychological and neuropsychological information is part of the overall decision making.
A key part of my job is neuropsychology assessment. This includes cognitive assessment (how a child is thinking, learning, and processing information), because epilepsy and seizures can affect cognition. I also try to understand their emotions and behaviour, and how a young person is coping day to day.
I support families with decision making around surgery. Epilepsy surgery is an elective procedure, so it is important that children and families feel informed, listened to and supported.
An average day is usually a mix of:
• inpatient work
• outpatient clinics and virtual clinics
• feedback appointments to explain assessment results in a clear, practical way
• school liaison, to help children get the right support in education
• following up with families after surgery to check how things are going
⭐What do you enjoy about your job?
Being able to support a young person and their family through uncertainty, to help them feel understood and to help reduce some of the burden that epilepsy can bring, is incredibly rewarding.
⭐Could you briefly explain epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and causes repeated seizures. A seizure happens when there is a sudden burst of unusual electrical activity in the brain. This can affect someone in different ways, depending on which part of the brain is involved.
Epilepsy looks different in different people. Some people have seizures that last seconds, others last longer. Some people recover quickly and others need time to rest afterwards. Epilepsy is common, and many people can control seizures well with the right treatment.
⭐What is one thing you’d like people to know about neuropsychology and epilepsy?
I would like people to know that epilepsy is highly individual and has a huge impact on those around the person with epilepsy. A neuropsychology assessment is not just about a label or a category. It is about understanding the specific child in front of us and what helps them thrive.
⭐Are there any new research or advancements in epilepsy that you’ve learnt recently?
One area that feels especially important and fast-moving is how we identify and protect key brain functions (like language) when planning epilepsy surgery. There is increasing focus on combining different sources of information, for example MRI and other scans, alongside functional techniques like fMRI and MEG, to build a clearer and more personalised picture of how a child’s brain is working. The goal is always to balance seizure control with protecting skills that matter day to day, like communication and learning.
There is also ongoing work on improving language mapping methods used in epilepsy surgery, so teams can make informed decisions with greater confidence.
For paediatrics, it’s exciting to see scanning approaches that can be made more child-friendly, because many young people find lengthy scanning difficult. Anything that helps us get high-quality information with less stress, is a great step forward.
⭐What does Purple Day mean to you and the team? Why is it important for you?
For me and the team, Purple Day matters because epilepsy can affect every part of a young person’s life - school, friendships, independence, confidence, and family wellbeing. It is also a day to recognise the reality that many families live with, including how exhausting it can be to support a condition that can feel unpredictable and out of their control.
It is a chance to remind children and families that they are not alone, and to encourage understanding, practical support, and compassionate conversations about epilepsy.’
