Aicardi's presentation on epilepsy at the 1998 International Child Neurology Association conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, started dramatically by using the iceberg, with larger amounts of ice below the surface, as an analogy for epilepsy. He then talked about the phenomena associated with epilepsy - the learning and behaviour problems. Beckung and Uvebrant titled their 1997 paper on epilepsy ‘Hidden dysfunction in childhood epilepsy’. ‘Hidden’ and ‘under the surface’ maybe, but hidden from whom? I suspect young people with epilepsy and their parents have been well aware for many years of some of these associated problems. But health professionals presented with children with epilepsy have concentrated too much on the convulsive episode itself and ignored the broader spectrum.