Epilepsy affects 1 in every 100 students. Despite years of teaching experience, you may never have known any of your students to have a seizure disorder. This apparent contradiction is usually due to the hidden nature of the disorder and the variety of forms it takes.
Aside from seizures themselves, there are no outward physical signs that make children with epilepsy identifiable. Epilepsy itself should not impact their normal growth and development. They are as active and interested in the same experiences as their peers.
Early recognition and treatment is important because children with epilepsy can face problems in school.
These include:
Learning disabilities
Safety risks
Behaviour problems
Social problems
Chronic absenteeism
The Role of the Teacher…
The teacher plays a central role in the acceptance and self-development of the child who has seizures in the classroom.
Sufficient knowledge and understandingof what epilepsy is will allow the teacher to educate the other students and influence the way in which children respond to this disorder.
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