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student had a seizure, I think
Wed, 02/09/2011 - 17:22I am currently a student teacher, and I swear one of my students had either an absence or a simple partial seizure recently. While working with him one on one, I caught him staring intently into space for about 15 to 20 seconds, and this was followed by him shaking his head as if to clear it for a minute or two, acting very confused, and embarrassedly muttering about "sometimes forgetting things" because he couldn't recall anything we had been talking about.
I grew up with frequent seizures (simple and mostly complex partial seizures) from ages 7-23. I had surgery at age 23 and thankfully have been seizure-free since. But I immediately recognized the aura, seizure, and post-ictal recovery because that was me for years.
Now, I'm not a neurologist, so I am exercising some caution and acceptance about reporting what I observed. I could easily be wrong! Even so, when I mentioned it to my mentor teacher, she claimed that he just goes into dazes and that it's more a behavior problem than anything. He's always done that, and he has no history of epilepsy. Just ignore it; it's ADHD. The sense that I got from her was that she thinks he's just daydreaming and trying to get out of doing his work, so don't humor him.
I feel so unsettled about her response though. I mean, I know what I saw, and it wasn't daydreaming. I teach in a school specifically for students with emotional/behavioral disabilities including some students with Aspergers, ADHD, bipolar disorder, learning disabilities, etc. So this kid is already enrolled in special education services. I want to mention the boy's "episode" to my principal, but I don't know if I should let it drop since my mentor teacher told me to just ignore it. At the same time, I'd hate the idea that he has undiagnosed and unmedicated epilepsy though, and I never said anything. Any advice?
Re: student had a seizure, I think
Submitted by victoria.w on Wed, 2011-02-09 - 18:08
Hi,
As a person with a history of this type of epilepsy you are in a better position than most to spot what may be possible symptoms. I think you should discuss your concerns with someone who could arrange for a proper evaluation. If the student does have frequent untreated seizures then medication or other treatment could make a huge difference to his quality of life and education.
Regards,
Victoria
Hi,
As a person with a history of this type of epilepsy you are in a better position than most to spot what may be possible symptoms. I think you should discuss your concerns with someone who could arrange for a proper evaluation. If the student does have frequent untreated seizures then medication or other treatment could make a huge difference to his quality of life and education.
Regards,
Victoria