Traditionally Disability gets misrepresented in many different ways. For example, as a punishment , curse, God’s wrath/wonders, revenge, a sign that something is coming and in many other countless ways. Epilepsy is not the exception to these typical representations within a societal structure.

Recall that in Longmore’s “ Screening Stereotypes”, states that there is an association with disabled people as “villains”. To such a degree that we should fear them because they ‘contaminate’ our society.

In West Africa these sentiments are strongly felt amongst the people of Sierra Leone. People who suffer from Epilepsy in this part of the world are often considered ‘uneducable,unemployable and unmarriageable.’If the afflicted seizes one day at work, they would lose their jobs. Spouses and families would shun them, because they fear that this ailment is ‘contagious’ or that they are possessed by demon. Traditional healers in Sierra Leone say to have a cure for Epilepsy. “HOW” they cure it, is a whole other story. Desperate families turn to these “healers” to avoid becoming the outcasts of society. Herbs would boil on for hours in the intent to drive the demons out of the possessed body causing the seizures. These fumes are intoxicating and are known to cause burns on the afflicted. However, this is not the only treatment option there is. If Plan A doesn’t work, the healer turns to Plan B. Patients suffering from epilepsy are forced to drink a two-liter bottle of Kerosene. Sierra Leone is one of Africa’s poorest countries, with limited health resources, the community resorts to traditional methods of healing. In a continent where HIV /AIDS , Malaria, policy making and money are the main focus,there seems to be scarce attention focused on Epilepsy creating a wide treatment gap.