Seizures and School Work

Many children with epilepsy do well in school, but seizures can affect school performance in subtle ways. Seizures can affect a child’s memory and processing skills. After a seizure, some children are unable to remember anything that happened the previous day or immediately afterwards. Medications can also affect a child’s attention span and ability to concentrate.

Parents need to help teachers understand how epilepsy can affect a child’s school performance.

Ginny Miller, a Kentucky mom whose 15-year-old son has epilepsy, often trains teachers about the effects of seizures on school performance. “I tell them, ‘Imagine you have the flu. Plus, you’ve taken a nighttime cold medicine. You head off to school and must perform on par all day, feeling awful, and do all of your work. In addition to that, the teacher pats you on the back and speaks to you the whole time to encourage you along. Now, write the alphabet backwards with your non-dominant hand, while swinging your opposite foot backwards in a circle.’ Kids with epilepsy take medication every day that makes them feel that way. That helps teachers really identify with what their students are going through.”

The care of children with epilepsy is a mutual concern of parents, teachers, school administrators, nurses and the child’s health care providers. By working together, they can help the child achieve success in school life.

Parents and Schools: Tips for Effective Communication

Effective communication between parents and schools is a two-way process, generating the understanding and support that professionals and parents all need to make decisions about a child’s educational program.

The PACER (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) Center, Inc. offers the following tips for parents to foster meaningful communication with schools:

• Make sure the focus stays on the child.
• Be prepared. Know in advance the important points to discuss and questions to ask. Write them down and check them off as they are asked.
• Listen. Listening will help you gather information about your child and help you understand other viewpoints.
• State your issues clearly. Communicate in an honest and direct manner.
• Ask questions. Asking questions can be an effective way of clarifying a point and keeping the line of communication open.
• Address comments and questions to the person who can best answer them.
• Restate your concerns if you are not heard the first time.
• Be confident. A parent never has to feel guilty or embarrassed asking questions or assertively pursuing the appropriate services for the child. It is your role and your right.
• Work together. Remember that neither you nor the professionals have all the answers. Work together as a team to find solutions. Everyone at
the meeting has the same goal—to provide an appropriate educational program for the child.

The key to effective communication is preparation and willingness to be actively involved in planning the child’s educational program.



From COMMUNICATION AND THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCESS, by the PACER Center, Inc.©2002. Used with permission from PACER Center Inc., Minneapolis, MN, (952) 838-9000. www.pacer.org. All rights reserved.

Eileen Frueh is a freelance writer and editor who has been covering health and education for 15 years.