: We exist, too
This post effectively follows on from Flash, bang, wibble, though stands alone as well.
When people think of 'epilepsy', they think of 'seizures triggered by flashing lights'. In fact, photosensitive epilepsy forms just 5% of all cases of epilepsy, primarily children and adolescents, and this sensitivity tends to be at flashing rates of 16-25Hz. [1] 456,000 people in the UK have epilepsy [2], so that's 22,800 with photosensitive epilepsy. That's like defining the entirely of a medium-sized city by one inner-city suburb.
When people think of 'autism', they think of 'social awkwardness'. Indeed, it is probably not inaccurate to consider this the central issue for autism (and the National Autistic Society does this too, [3]). Yet excessive sensitivity to light (and other senses) is not uncommon either, and almost certainly affects more than 5% of those on the autistic spectrum. 'Over half a million' people have Asperger's Syndrome, the figure is quoted at 1 in 100, there's also simply 'autism' which is pedantically Kanner Syndrome; call it 600,000 on the autistic spectrum. There doesn't seem to be clear figures on what proportion of these have certain sensory issues, but from knowing others on the spectrum I'm willing to call a majority, possibly enough to approach the number with non-photosensitive epilepsy.
Of course, the reaction is less severe than an epileptic seizure, and so it makes sense to legislate for that 22,800 knowing it will additionally help another few hundred thousand not directly accounted for.
Or will it?
Reactions to photosensitive epilepsy tend to be to flash rates exceeding ten per second. For precisely this reason, strobe lights are restricted to four flashes per second in the UK, a rate that according to one study affects only 5% of those with photosensitive epilepsy [4] - that's only just over 1,000 people in the whole of the UK. And yet... and yet... when I went to the Medics' Revue, strobe lighting used at a perfectly legal rate triggered my equivalent of a seizure, a panic attack caused through simply overpowering my very limited sensory capacity, and I fled the scene rapidly. And most of the 22,800 with photosensitive epilepsy don't (to my knowledge) tend to share my sensitivity to sound, taste or touch...
This post effectively follows on from Flash, bang, wibble, though stands alone as well.
When people think of 'epilepsy', they think of 'seizures triggered by flashing lights'. In fact, photosensitive epilepsy forms just 5% of all cases of epilepsy, primarily children and adolescents, and this sensitivity tends to be at flashing rates of 16-25Hz. [1] 456,000 people in the UK have epilepsy [2], so that's 22,800 with photosensitive epilepsy. That's like defining the entirely of a medium-sized city by one inner-city suburb.
When people think of 'autism', they think of 'social awkwardness'. Indeed, it is probably not inaccurate to consider this the central issue for autism (and the National Autistic Society does this too, [3]). Yet excessive sensitivity to light (and other senses) is not uncommon either, and almost certainly affects more than 5% of those on the autistic spectrum. 'Over half a million' people have Asperger's Syndrome, the figure is quoted at 1 in 100, there's also simply 'autism' which is pedantically Kanner Syndrome; call it 600,000 on the autistic spectrum. There doesn't seem to be clear figures on what proportion of these have certain sensory issues, but from knowing others on the spectrum I'm willing to call a majority, possibly enough to approach the number with non-photosensitive epilepsy.
Of course, the reaction is less severe than an epileptic seizure, and so it makes sense to legislate for that 22,800 knowing it will additionally help another few hundred thousand not directly accounted for.
Or will it?
Reactions to photosensitive epilepsy tend to be to flash rates exceeding ten per second. For precisely this reason, strobe lights are restricted to four flashes per second in the UK, a rate that according to one study affects only 5% of those with photosensitive epilepsy [4] - that's only just over 1,000 people in the whole of the UK. And yet... and yet... when I went to the Medics' Revue, strobe lighting used at a perfectly legal rate triggered my equivalent of a seizure, a panic attack caused through simply overpowering my very limited sensory capacity, and I fled the scene rapidly. And most of the 22,800 with photosensitive epilepsy don't (to my knowledge) tend to share my sensitivity to sound, taste or touch...
Music: Enya - Watermark