do you tell your children's friends/parents?

My son's teachers were told at the end of school last year in May when my son first had a grand mal, and my son's main teacher addressed the whole class about my son, and said they were to watch out for him. Today I am going to meet all new teachers, and they will have to be told also. As for my sons friends and their parents, they know. He only has 2 friends that live near us and perhaps they are an exception. One himself has Epilepsy and the other one has a younger brother who has a physical disability. I guess we were lucky that no one has made fun of him.

Hi, While I'm not a parent, I'm a 33 yr old person who has been epileptic since age 5 - absence and complex partial seizures. My teachers were always told by my parents in the grades they needed to know (K-8), for high school, you fill out a medical form that all teachers get a copy of, so they're made aware that way. Thing is, growing up I was a sports kid - baseball, ringette, swimming, skiing & tennis being the main ones. My parents always made coaches aware. For baseball my dad was my coach. For the other ones, he'd make coaches aware & at least one of my parents would be there. As far as telling my friends - in my younger grades, I can remember my friends thinking I was prone to day dreams that lead to killer headaches (absence seizures were more common for me then). Keep in mind the age bracket your explaining it to. High school I'd just tell people I had epileptic seizures. Now if I'm out with people I tell them I make a crappy designated driver because these seizure things mean I can't drink or drive. And now, I'm always like "I don't have those Hollywood type seizures like in Exorcism of Emily Rose or anything..." that's so wrong, I just drift out on ya for a bit & hmmm...I might be a bit edgy & fidgety in there. Just stay calm, ask easy questions & life is all good before you know it! I think people panic more, the more you tend to explain things in a way that's going to make them a bit freaked. And it's probably a good thing if you can start to tell people in a reasonably calm way now, so it's accepted by people because as your kids get older they'll have to come up with ways to tell friends, co-workers, possible employers & it isn't always easy, but it's something that can & has to be done in life. I always find the more I make people feel comfortable about the situation & just sorta say well, yeah just incase.... Actually, growing up in the same city throughout my school years, I really only had one major seizure at school (more absence ones). Thing is, that major seizure 10 minutes before my OAC English Final. It was my friends that knew what to do more than teachers, because friends & I grew up together. So you never know, as your son gets older friends will be a great support network in many ways. Just some thoughts to consider. Good Luck :) Erin / Godiva.