Don’t doubt planning schooling of your child if he is diagnosed as a case of epilepsy. If your child is doing well in school, there is no reason to worry about the effects of epilepsy on learning. Your child may have an attention deficit with frequent distractibility, may be excessively tired from medication or poor sleep, or may have a specific learning disability which may or may not be related to the epilepsy. Obtaining an educational assessment is the first step after talking with your child’s teachers. You have the right to request an assessment of your child’s problems and needs.
Children with epilepsy usually are of normal intelligence but some do not do well academically. When this happens, it is important to find out the reason. Neurological impairment, frequent seizures or adverse effects of anti-seizure drugs can affect school performance of your child.
For individuals with disabilities, the education act (IDEA) provides legal guarantees for educating children with handicaps. Your child has the right to be taught in a regular classroom environment as much as possible. He has the right to be included in social activities and other activities provided by the school. You have the right to be directly involved in the process of planning your child’s education.
Parents are often extremely reluctant to challenge the school authorities and system. Suggestions from parents about their child’s special needs or their desire to have their child attend regular (mainstream) classes can be met with indignation and ridicule. Knowing the child’s rights under the law and being cautiously assertive can go a long way toward ensuring that the child receives the best possible education.
Regular classes offer the opportunity for children with epilepsy and other disorders to enjoy their education and to be in the social environment of other children who do not have disabilities. By attending mainstream classes, your child with epilepsy will be exposed to a wider array of educational opportunities, will have the chance to develop lasting social relationships with other children with and without disabilities and will be more likely to feel like a regular child instead of a child with a disability. That is not to deny the existence of the epilepsy but it emphasizes that most children with epilepsy have the potential to learn and accomplish all the things that other children can. Some children can be innocently cruel. They may tease your child. Other children may even avoid playing with your child with epilepsy. If teasing or cruelty becomes a problem, it may be worth asking the school to conduct an educational program so that the other children can better understand epilepsy.
