Please don't forget that this site has been compiled by a person with epilepsy and not a medical professional, if in doubt ask someone who is!
Jargon busting the terms used about Epilepsy:

Absence	is a generalized seizure where a person's consciousness is interrupted. This is sometimes confused with 'day dreaming'
AEDs	(Anti Epileptic Drugs) Term used to describe the medication used to control Epilepsy.
Atonic	is a generalized seizure during which a person falls to the ground because their body goes limp.
Aura	is a form of Simple Partial seizure that acts a warning or indicates to the person that they are experiencing a seizure.
Automatism	is phrase used to describe the movements made by a person having a Complex Partial seizure. The type of movements include wandering about, fumbling with clothes, babbling to themselves or make other noises.
Complex Partial	seizures affect a larger part of the brain and the person is no longer aware of their surroundings and they loose consciousness. They may demonstrate behaviour what is known as automatism.
EEG	(electroencephalography) is a test which records the patterns of electricity from the brain.
Epilepsy	is a term used to describe people who have Epileptic seizures which affect consciousness and / or motor activity. It is a medical condition and not an illness.
Frontal lobe	seizures can make a person jerk an arm, leg or head and their eyes may turn to one side.
Generalized	seizures occur when the whole brain is affected and the person looses consciousness. Tonic-Clonic, Tonic, Atonic, Myoclonic and Absence are different types of Generalized seizures.
Grand mal	a term that was used to describe Tonic-Clonic seizures.
Lobes	are different parts of the brain (Fontal, Parietal, Temporal & Occipital) of the brain.
MRI	stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging a test using a machine with a powerful magnet to discover abnormalities of the brain.
Myoclonic	is a generalized seizure where a person experiences sudden muscle jerks.
Occipital	seizures can make a person see flashing lights in one half of their field of vision.
Parietal lobe	seizures can make a person feel tingling down one side of their body.
Partial	seizures occur when only part of the brain is affected. Simple, Complex & Secondary Generalized are different types of Partial seizures.
Petite mal	a term that was used to describe an Absence seizure.
Secondary Generalized	seizures begins in one part of the brain, then spreads across the whole of the brain making the person having the seizure unconscious.
Seizures	(used to known as 'fits'), these begin as a sort of electrical storm in the brain which temporarily short circuits. Different parts of the brain can be affected and these result in different types of seizure.
Simple Partial	seizures affect a small part of the brain (Frontal, Parietal, Temporal or Occipital lobes) and there is no loss of consciousness.
Status epilepticus	a seizure or seizures that last longer than 30 minutes and the individual does not regain consciousness and requires hospital treatment.
Temporal lobe	seizures can make a person have intense feelings of fear, memory flashbacks, deja vu and smells or tastes.
Tonic-Clonic	is a generalized seizure where a person's body becomes rigid and they fall down. During a Tonic-Clonic seizure a person may then make a high pitched cry. Colour is lost from the face and their mouth becomes blue. Breathing becomes erratic and saliva foams from the mouth. During these seizures the body makes jerking movements and grunt. A person may bite their tongue and loose bladder or bowel control. When recovering from this form of seizure the person is confused and sleepy. They may also experience headaches and nausea.
Tonic	is a generalized seizure during which a person falls to the ground because their body goes rigid.