A month ago we returned to the daily routine. Back to work, to getting up soon, and for the little ones, back to the classroom.
School is an essential part of children’s lives, but it is also one of the environments that bring most insecurity to the parents and family of a child that has seizures.
To ensure the safety of the child and that their learning is not affected, it is essential to talk with their teachers and the director. It is important to find out to what extent they are used to dealing with pupils with epilepsy, in addition to providing contact information and instructions on what to do in case of a seizure and how to administer the medication.
It is advisable to participate in trips and extracurricular activities, as they will help them to integrate
Teachers must be able to recognize the early signs of a seizure in order to react in the fastest and most efficient way.
We must also take into account the particularities of each case. In the case of photogenic epilepsy, between 2% and 5% of the total, it must be ensured that projectors, computers or smartboards do not have blinking, intermittent or high contrast patterns.
As long as the necessary precautions are taken, it is advisable for the child to participate in trips and extracurricular activities, as they will help them to integrate with the group and stay active.
Finally, note that it would be a mistake to keep children suffering from epilepsy in an isolated environment. Those who live with the disease already face more difficulties of social integration, especially in adolescent age, since to avoid risks their participation in activities can be limited. In addition, there is still a deep stigma in our culture with direct consequences on the disease.
We must not forget when we were kids we all liked to play, get wet in puddles and look around, so it is the duty of the whole society to give visibility to epilepsy so that it is normalized and better understood by reducing the social rejection to which it exposes and allowing better quality of life to the young people who suffer from it. You can help giving awareness by sharing this article.
