Why are children with epilepsy so easily misdiagnosed? The reason is that the gold standard for diagnosing epilepsy is not any one indicator, but a thorough visual report of the condition that occurred before, during, and after the diagnosis. A careful history is often necessary to distinguish the condition from other transient neurological disturbances. When this report is missing, making a diagnosis of epilepsy can be difficult. This is especially true for younger children who are not comfortable or have difficulty clearly explaining the feelings they are experiencing. Also, other conditions that accompany small children, such as occasional abnormal behavior or perceptions, may be grounds for misdiagnosis of epilepsy because their clinical signs are not as clear as those of older children. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis for children who are not yet in school or who have not yet developed a behavioral profile needs to be made by someone with specialized knowledge. Another misconception is that an EEG can conclusively determine whether a child has epilepsy. In fact, it is only when a child reaches the age of 12 to 14 that his EEG forms a normal adult picture. Until then, certain wavelengths and patterns that appear abnormal may be a normal part of a child’s maturing brain. However, many neurophysiologists have limited experience in analyzing children’s EEGs, and many normal, mature patterns are thus interpreted as being outside the normal boundaries, so that confused pediatricians are misled by inappropriate EEG interpretations and incorrectly make a diagnosis of epilepsy.