Seizure Protocol at school

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Does anyone here have a teen who has tonic clonic seizures and therefore requires Diastat at school? If so, do you have a seizure protocol/plan of action on when and how to use it at school, and when and if to call an ambulance? If yes to this, how did you go about getting this plan set up? I have a teen whose SP & CP are becoming more TC as he goes through puberty, and I've requested that Diastat be on hand at school just in case. My son's neurologist wrote up a plan, but the school doctor is refusing to follow it...she wants 911 called for every unresponsive seizure (which could include any of his seizure types) and does not want the Diastat used. I am pushing for the 5 minute rule and the use of Diastat if necessary....she's fighting me all the way, eventhough his neurologist has written the plan! Can the school doc do this? Can she over ride my child's doctor's plan? We live in NY and he goes to a public school. Thank you in advance! Wendy

Comments

Re: Seizure Protocol at school

Submitted by dad43PA on Tue, 2006-01-10 - 09:16

Hi Wendy I have an8yr old son who has a sz disorder. We have Diastat just in case his sz last longer than 5 minutes. We have never had to use it, but we do keep a dose at his school. His school nurse has been very cooperative. The school requested a form signed by the neuro to be kept on file. We went over the instructions for giving the Diastat with the nurse, special ed teacher, and his last 2 classroom teachers. My son usually has sz when he is coming down with an illness, so we alert the school staff if he is acting like he is not feeling well. He had his first sz at school a couple of months ago and the staff handled it very well. I don't see how the school can over-ride the plan written by your neuro. It sounds as though the school doc may be intimidated by the thought of having to deal with something that appears very scary if your not use to seeing these situations. Good luck! Chip

Re: Re: Seizure Protocol at school

Submitted by sonya walden on Tue, 2006-01-10 - 21:12

Sonya Walden Hey Wendy! My five year daughter was supposed to start Kindergarten this past school year and due to her seizures she would have to have Diastat on board at school. Well, if there was a school nurse there, would not have been a problem, but low and behold, we had problems! We live in TN and there are some good rules if you will but this issue has left a bad taste. Since we do not have a nurse there at her school, the first suggestion was to move her to a different school in the county that had a nurse. Not only was this school a 30 minute drive from our home, but since it is the only elementary school in our county that has a nurse, all medically "challenged" children have been placed there. They were dealing with everything from food allergies to asthma and diabetes but no epilepsy. No.1--We refused to have to send her to a school that was that far away from home, the ambulance response time was slow and I could not get there quickly if needed. No.2--she should not be dragged from her familiar surroundings because before the seizures she was attending the elementary school's pre-K program for speech impaired and handicapped kids. Her doctor even said that it would cause problems for her. The list goes on and on and the make a long story short, her doctor wrote a plan that stated since I lived five minutes away and my mom worked--get this--beside the school that we could be first responders to her in case of a seizure and be able to administer the Diastat by the 6th minute. This was a wonderful plan but by the time that we get i approved she became so bad that she could not even tolerate the teacher coming for home bound. But the answer to your dilema could be this: our state says that if a doctor writes a plan of action for you child to attend a specific school with a specific list of actions to tend to them during a medical emergency then they have to abide by it! Good Luck!

Re: Re: Re: Seizure Protocol at school

Submitted by wmott1122 on Thu, 2006-01-12 - 18:28

Thank you for the input you gave...it was very helpful. I contacted our State Education Department and here is a response that the lady there gave to one of our superintendents: Statewide School Health Services Center 43 Turner Drive Spencerport, NY 14559 January 12, 2006 Robert Fogel, Assistant Superintendent Newark Central School 100 East Miller Street Newark, NY 14513 Dear Bob, Pursuant to our telephone call this morning, I'd like to comment on the issue we discussed regarding a school physician refusing to allow a student to receive emergency medication (in school) that was ordered by the student's physician, in this instance, a Neurologist. I'd like to summarize the facts, as I understand them. This situation involves a middle school student who sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) several years ago, resulting in a Seizure Disorder. The school physician does not feel the student should receive rectal Diastat in school, even though the medication was ordered by the student's Neurologist, the parent is in support of the Neurologist's recommendation (in writing), and there is a Registered Nurse in the building to administer it. I also understand that the Neurologist has written an emergency protocol, which includes the protocol for administering rectal Diastat and follow-up care by EMS. DiastatÂ®, or rectal Diazepam (ValiumÂ®) is being used more today to stop acute seizures. It can be used to stop seizures in patients who are known to have epilepsy and perhaps prevent the need to go to an emergency room. The earlier the patient receives medication to stop an acute seizure, the easier the seizure is to stop. Diastat is widely used at epilepsy camps for children where hospital emergency rooms would otherwise be very far away. There are no laws stating that a school physician or any other member of the district has to APPROVE orders written by a child's physician. Federal and State laws support administration of medications to students while at school. If a student needs to take a prescribed medication during the school day in order to attend school without jeopardizing their health or potential for learning, then medical orders need to be followed and implemented. In my estimation, the school district is potentially opening itself up for legal action by the parents of this student if the Neurologist's orders are NOT followed. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Respectfully, Mary M. Capparelli, RN, CSNP Executive Director NY Statewide School Health Services Center (585) 349-7630 cc: Rebecca Gardner, Student Support Services, State Education Department Naomi Marsh, Student Support Services, State Education Department I'm hoping this is all it will take to get the district to comply! I wish you the best with your child and I hope you are able to work things out. If I can help you in any way, please email me at wmott1122@bluefrog.com Thanks, Wendy