Whether parents, children and schools alike can believe it or not - it is back to school season! At Epilepsy Ireland, we regularly support parents supporting children with the condition with the return to school, as well as schools themselves who may be seeking to learn more about a condition which affects over 10,000 children in Ireland.
With that in mind, we wanted to take the opportunity to remind parents and schools of the resources and information that we have available to help support children with epilepsy. We have several resources and booklets available which may be of use. These are all linked to on our website below:
- Education Information Pack for Teachers
- Epilepsy and Children; A guide for Parents
- Epilepsy and School
- Seizure First Aid Posters
Our team of Community Resource Officers deliver epilepsy awareness talks to schools the length and breadth of the country and we can arrange such a talk for your local school. Details of your local CRO can be found by visiting the 'Our Services' section of our website. We also regularly deliver Information Sessions on Epilepsy Awareness for Teachers and SNAs in conjunction with local Education Support centres – these upcoming sessions will be listed on the ‘Events’ section of our website.
Epilepsy Ireland also delivers Epilepsy Awareness and the Administration of Buccal Midazolam training to healthcare professionals, teachers and SNAs. This certified training is crucial in ensuring that education providers are fully aware of epilepsy and know how to respond to seizures where emergency medication is required. If your child’s teacher/school needs to be trained, encourage them to visit the 'Training' section of our website to find out more about our offerings here.
With all the above in mind, we would stress that it is very important to disclose your child’s epilepsy to their school to ensure that they know how to support your child and it is always recommended that any child with epilepsy who could have seizures in school has an individualised Care Plan. These plans should cover:
- what types of seizures the child has
- what triggers the seizures (if known) and which triggers might be modifiable
- how seizures are to be managed from a first aid perspective
- who is to administer first aid
- whether emergency medication is prescribed for prolonged seizures and if prescribed, that it is in date
- who is to administer emergency medication
- details of who is to be contacted and when
- what an emergency is for that individual child
- arrangements for recovery
- any effects on concentration, behaviour and learning from the seizures or medication
While many schools will work to follow care plans, it is important to note that individual schools may have their own individual policies about seizure incidences in school. This is important to discuss with your child’s school in the context of your child’s individual care plan.
Finally, in terms of supporting children with epilepsy themselves, we have specific offerings targeted at young people with epilepsy under our Young Epilepsy Programme. These offerings include Get ChARTy for 8-12 year olds and Teen Time for 13 – 17 year olds. More details on these events can be found by visiting the ‘Our Local Services’ section of our website.
We would like to wish parents, students, and teachers every best wish for the year ahead and please do not hesitate to contact our team if we can be of assistance!