New help for teachers on dealing with epilepsy in the classroom

Published on Tuesday 19 January 2010 19:14

"PEOPLE see you differently," says 15-year-old Beth Mackie. "The teachers who were there when it happened said it was really scary and they didn't know what to do.

"I had a seizure in the hall and my teachers really panicked. It was chaos when I came round. The first time I woke up, I didn't know what happened and there were people running around, people shouting.

"My friends were not near me so I couldn't work out what happened."

That was Beth's early experience with epilepsy, before she was eventually diagnosed at the age of 11.

She says teachers have since learned more about her condition and notice if she does not look well just before a potential seizure.

One person in every 130, or nearly 40,000 people in Scotland, develops epilepsy at some point in their life, making it the most common serious neurological condition.

When a child at school has their first seizure, it can be frightening not just for the pupil but also for teachers and classmates.

Beth and her mother, who are from Renfrewshire, have helped her school understand how best to help with her epilepsy, and a new guide from charity Epilepsy Scotland is spreading the message.

An early guide to the condition was paid for by the then Scottish Executive in 2004 and later revised in line with the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004.

About 2,800 copies of the latest guide have gone to every primary and secondary in Scotland, and requests have been made for another 1,200 copies, including one from an epilepsy specialist nurse in Northern Ireland.

Joanne Smith, head teacher of Netherton Primary in Wishaw, says they have had pupils experience seizures during class, but with very little impact on fellow pupils, most of whom have grown up together.

"I think the stigma around the condition is starting to disappear," she explains. "Parents of children with epilepsy are more worried about the stigma. But we just accept that's who that person is.

"It is more difficult at a secondary school level, where there are larger groups and pupils are becoming more aware of their bodies. For little children, it's not a huge issue."

She goes on: "Having a seizure affects a child's self-esteem, and you have to work very hard to make sure everyone is valued. You look for opportunities in the curriculum and in the school to make people feel valued.

"We aim to make all our pupils feel they can achieve anything. Yes, it's frightening for a child having a seizure, but you reassure the child that it's going to be OK."

"If you get a trust between your child and staff, then they believe you when you say it's going to be OK."

At 34 pages, the new guide is a considerable expansion from a previous six-page pamphlet on how to cope with the condition. The new publication offers a pull-out section for quick reference – something requested by teachers in the initial consultation.

The guide has also updated legal issues that schools must take into account – including the Disability Discrimination Act – and added sections on how to recognise a possible seizure, and more information about what constitutes a medical emergency and emergency medication.

Other sections cover the side-effects of drugs taken to manage the condition and how these can affect a child's learning, memory problems, depression and school activities, as well as safety and career advice.

Morag Souter, specialist school nurse at Largs Academy, says her school has had only two pupils in the past five years with the condition, so having a resource available when a pupil is newly diagnosed is critical.

She says: "Teachers just want to know what to do if someone has a seizure – a lot don't know how to manage epilepsy. They need to have the knowledge to manage a situation in a non-stigmatising way if a pupil has a seizure.

"It's more practical questions they have. We don't try to draw attention to the condition, but teachers will come across it at some point and it's about raising awareness."

The Epilepsy Scotland chief executive, Lesslie Young, says her organisation has been impressed with the positive reaction to its guide.

"A teacher or classroom assistant is often the first person to notice changes in a child, like daydreaming," she says.

"As epilepsy is a common childhood condition, knowing how to spot and deal with seizures is important. This new, expanded guide is teacher-friendly, with an easy-to-read format and a pull-out section for quick reference. It's a tool, designed with and for teachers, to inform and make them feel confident helping a pupil with epilepsy both in the classroom and doing school activities."

Andrea Stevenson, from Larbert, knows how important educating teachers can be. Her 17-year-old daughter Philippa has lost many years of her schooling because of the severity of her seizures and lack of control from medication.

She hopes the guide will go some way to improving the situation for other children in Scotland.

"Sometimes Philippa was made out to be dreaming or playing possum on her desk, when she was really getting more ill all the time," she says.

"Epilepsy can strike at any time, anywhere, and it's something that's still very stigmatised. And I don't think Philippa's friends were encouraged to accept what was going on with her, so it was easier for them to just not be around her. She has become desocialised.

"I don't think anyone in the school was prepared – and we certainly weren't – for the severity of the epilepsy and the impact of the drugs," Ms Stevenson says. "Teachers are only human and are now expected to do a lot of extra work to make them into pseudo health-care providers."

She adds: "I'm thankful they have now pulled out all the stops to accept her."

&#149 The education guide is available to download at www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk