Character: Caitlin Ryan
From: Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High (Degrassi franchise)
Representation: Epilepsy
Their Importance: Any time a character with a disability is represented, rarely is it in a main recurring character. I've also found that characters with epilepsy, unfortunately, are so incredibly rare.
But Caitlin Ryan is a character who is diagnosed with epilepsy and is required to take medication for it. There's light talk (very brief) about seizure triggers (with Caitlin's father concerned that lack of sleep could trigger another seizure for her), and it shows Caitlin taking medication and having two episodes of absence seizures (something that is especially rare in epilepsy representation, as television shows near exclusively think of seizures as photosensitive and tonic-clonic).
Her epilepsy was something I was worried was going to be a one-time-shown sort of very special episode thing, but it isn't. She takes her medication casually in a few episodes and mentions it when relevant to conversation.
Overall I was impressed by how much they mentioned and got correct. Though the writers, I do believe, discussed the topic of epilepsy and seizures with neurologists.
Issues: The whole introductory episode feels very overly-dramatic, but with a show like Degrassi I feel like it's to be expected. It also has a couple characters antagonize Caitlin (for petty reasons) about having Epilepsy/taking medication.
It also shows Caitlin having a seizure in a scene which just made me uncomfortable, as someone with epilepsy, as it was an incredibly dramatic example of what appeared to be a tonic-clonic seizure.
And also, to my knowledge, the actor who played Caitlin (Stacie Mistysyn) doesn't have epilepsy in real life. So that could be bothersome to some.