Timeline

Timeline

1890 – 1920 1930 – 1960 1980 – 2000 2001 – 2009
1890 – 1920
1898

The National Association for the Study of Epilepsy and the Care and Treatment of Epileptics was founded by William Pryor Letchworth, L.L.D., and Frederick Peterson, M.D. Membership was for “any person interested in the scientific study of epilepsy, or in the study of ways and means to improve the condition of epileptics, or in sociological subjects generally.”

1901The first meeting of the association was held in Washington, D.C., May 14 and 15, 1901.
1909The National Association became the American affiliate of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) when ILAE was established in August 1909, in Budapest, Hungary.
1925The National Association ceased to exist as an autonomous society in 1925. All members also were members of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and, in 1927, the National Association became the first organized APA Section on Convulsive Disorders.
1930 – 1960
1936The American Branch of the ILAE was organized during the American Medical Association (AMA) meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. Its members were concerned “with research and with treatment of extramural patients,” in contrast to the Section on Convulsive Disorders, whose members were concerned with institutional care of patients. In May, 1936, the American Branch held a joint scientific session with the Section on Convulsive Disorders. Thereafter, until 1946, annual meetings were held during the AMA meetings.
1946A joint meeting was held on December 13, 1946, that included the American Branch of ILAE, ILAE and the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Diseases (ARNMD). This is considered the founding year of the AES.
1952The American Branch of the ILAE was incorporated in 1952, and in 1954 changed its name to the American Epilepsy Society.
1980 – 2000
1984A task force was organized to attract neuroscientists to join the Society.
1988AES launched a tradition of proactive initiatives to identify education and investigative priorities, beginning with an effort to address issues on childhood onset epilepsy.
 2001 - 2009
2002

A strategic operational plan was created to achieve the AES vision of leadership in the 21st century. A major meeting of AES leadership was convened in June, 2002 to revisit and update the Strategic Plan. AES supports the Benchmarks established at the Curing Epilepsy Conference, co-sponsored by AES, NINDS, CURE, and EF. These benchmarks are the keystone to our legislative and research efforts.

2004 In 2004, to meet the needs of its increasingly diverse membership, the first Allied Health Symposium was offered at the Annual Meeting. This program drew about 150 attendees that year and in 2006 was expanded to two symposia. The symposium was renamed Professionals in Epilepsy Care Symposium in 2005 to better define the audience. 2004 was also the first year the Annual Meeting symposia were “repurposed” on the Web site with CME credit. In addition, the “Medical Education Evaluator,” an online evaluation
20062006 has been a milestone year for the American Epilepsy Society. Not only did the AES host its first Mid-Year Meeting in Chicago in June, it also hosted the First North American Regional Epilepsy Congress in conjunction with its Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA and celebrated its 70th anniversary. The Society has embraced this anniversary as a time to reflect on its genesis and to honor the pioneers who helped it grow into a leading organization in the promotion of epilepsy research, communication, and education.
2008 AES participated in the second Curing Epilepsy Congress in 2007, hosted by the NINDS in Bethesda, MD. One result was a new set of research benchmarks which were published in 2008. Important activities in 2008 included the white paper on SUDEP, generated by the SUDEP Task Force, identifying research priorities as well as opportunities for education and advocacy. This Task Force was a coalition of the AES, Epilepsy Foundation and CURE. The Practice Standards Committee, in partnership with the AAN and NAEC conducted a survey on common practices in Epilepsy Monitoring Units that evolved into a symposium at the 2008 Annual Meeting. Another important activity was the development of a protocol for a clinical trial on differences in the effectiveness of anticonvulsant drug formulations which was a result of the efforts of the Access to Continuity of Supply Task Force. Lastly, AES became more active in advocacy, educating members on upcoming legislative issues such as the NIH budget and the establishment of Epilepsy Centers of Excellence in the VA system.
2010