Teachers can be great allies in keeping your child with a seizure disorder safe and successful in school, but you'll need to make sure they have all the knowledge they need to help. Use these suggestions to create a information packet to bring educators up to speed.
Five Things Teachers Need to Know
1. My child may need emergency assistance from you during a seizure. Please review the materials I've sent and consult with the school nurse so you can be ready to help.
2. When my child appears to be daydreaming, he may be having an absence seizure. Please do not treat this as a behavior issue, and let me know what you have observed.
3. It's okay to let my child's classmates know about her condition as long as it's done in an appropriate way; I'd be happy to help prepare a program.
4. My child has a serious health condition, but he is still a child with ordinary interests and hope and dreams. Please help us keep his life as normal as possible.
5. Please keep the lines of communication open between our home and the school. My child needs all the adults in her life working together.
Educational Implications
[The following tips are excerpted from Epilepsy, a publication of the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. Fact Sheet 6, January 2004.]
Students with epilepsy or seizure disorders are eligible for special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Epilepsy is classified as "other health impaired" and an Individualized Education Program (IEP) would be developed to specify appropriate services. Some students may have additional conditions such as learning disabilities along with the seizure disorders.
Seizures may interfere with the child's ability to learn. If the student has the type of seizure characterized by a brief period of fixed staring, he or she may be missing parts of what the teacher is saying. It is important that the teacher observe and document these episodes and report them promptly to parents and to school nurses.
Depending on the type of seizure or how often they occur, some children may need additional assistance to help them keep up with classmates. Assistance can include adaptations in classroom instruction, first aid instruction on seizure management to the student's teachers, and counseling, all of which should be written in the IEP.
It is important that the teachers and school staff are informed about the child's condition, possible effects of medication, and what to do in case a seizure occurs at school. Most parents find that a friendly conversation with the teacher(s) at the beginning of the school year is the best way to handle the situation. Even if a child has seizures that are largely controlled by medication, it is still best to notify the school staff about the condition.
School personnel and the family should work together to monitor the effectiveness of medication as well as any side effects. If a child's physical or intellectual skills seem to change, it is important to tell the doctor. There may also be associated hearing or perception problems caused by the brain changes. Written observations of both the family and school staff will be helpful in discussions with the child's doctor.
Children and youth with epilepsy must also deal with the psychological and social aspects of the condition. These include public misperceptions and fear of seizures, uncertain occurrence, loss of self control during the seizure episode, and compliance with medications. To help children feel more confident about themselves and accept their epilepsy, the school can assist by providing epilepsy education programs for staff and students, including information on seizure recognition and first aid.
Students can benefit the most when both the family and school are working together. There are many materials available for families and teachers so that they can understand how to work most effectively as a team.
Printouts to Share with Teachers
What the Teacher Should Know: Epilepsy
Source: Government of British Columbia Ministry of Education
The A B C's of Epilepsy and Seizure Disorder in the Elementary Classroom
Source: Epilepsy Ontario
Information for Education Professionals
Source: Epilepsy Action
Epilepsy and Learning Disability
Source: The National Society for Epilepsy
Physical Education Fact Sheet: Seizures
Source: Tahperd
