My 4 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with Absence Seizures. What support is available regarding health and education? Thanks

[KLH76]

[sam877]

My son has absence seizures amongst other forms of epilepsy. We have had a real rollercoaster of a ride in regards to education and I say that as a Primary School teacher myself! The biggest problem we faced was getting the school to recognise that his absences were a 'Special Need' - which of course they are ; they affect his concentration and he can miss vital bits of instructions/ teaching not to mention the sleepiness caused by his meds. I am happy to say that he is now in a school which does recognise his needs. So my advice is to meet with the Special Needs Co ordinator (SENCO) sometimes also known as the Inclusion Manager, before your daughter starts school if she hasn't already. At this meeting discuss with him/her setting up an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for your daughter. This should outline any areas of difficulty that your child might have and targets as to how they can be supported. If you are lucky the SENCO will have come across children with absence seizures before. If not, I have found it helpful to print out information from NSE or other organisations about the condition. My consultant also wrote a letter to the school highlighting typical difficulties that children with absence seizures might have at school. The things that have helped my son the most are having a visual timetable, having a card which signals discretely to the teacher if he has missed an instruction and finally being able to have some time out (sometimes even to sleep).

So my advice is give the school as much info as you can and to really push for them to tell you how they will support your daughter's condition. Hopefully, you will have a good supportive school from the start. All the best!

[Hobbit44]

I just want to say that I am so happy that there is some support available (shame if you have to push for the support though). This is so helpful. I am way past my school days but back then absence seizures were not recognised - I was just marked down for day-dreaming. This support with regard to the teacher being aware is a big progress and so, please be sure to show determination to get all of this support. Good luck..