Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by recurring seizures caused by a brief disturbance in the brain's electrical activity. It affects 1 in 100 people and is not contagious. There are over 30 types of seizures, which are categorized as either generalized seizures that affect the whole brain or partial seizures that affect only part of the brain. Absence seizures, one of the most common types in children, cause brief staring spells but the child is unaware of their surroundings. Simple partial seizures impair specific functions like memory or movement. Complex partial seizures also cause lack of awareness. Tonic-clonic seizures involve convulsions and loss of consciousness. First aid involves protecting the child and timing seizures. A seizure emergency requires calling 911. Schools should

1. Seizure Smart Schools
Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia

2. What is epilepsy?
• Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by recurring seizures
• seizures are a brief, temporary disturbance in the electrical
activity in the brain
• it is not contagious in any way
• a child with epilepsy typically gets good seizure control
with the use of medication

3. Epilepsy by the numbers
• 1 in every 100 people in the general population
• 1 in every 50 people under the age of 18
• 1 in every 3 people who have a developmental disability
• 10% of the population will have at least one seizure
during their lifetime
• 3 million people in the USA have epilepsy

4. Types of Seizures
• There are more than 30 types of seizures
• Seizures are either
Generalized:
affect the whole brain and cause a loss of consciousness
or
Partial:
affect only part of the brain and may or may not affect
consciousness

5. Absence / Petit Mal
Seizures
• Absence seizures are the most common type of seizure in
pre-school, primary and elementary age students
• characterized by brief stare, glazed look on the face, may
appear to be day dreaming, unaware of their surroundings
• lasts just a matter of seconds, but may occur hundreds of
times a day if left untreated
• student is unable to process any information during the
time the seizure lasts, resulting in academic difficulty

6. First Aid for Absence
Seizures
• Does not require medical first aid
• Protocol
Observe- note how frequently these disconnects occur,
length of time
Document – write down, keep count of occurrences
Report – make a school counselor/school nurse aware of the
situation
These types of seizures are very well controlled by meds !

7. Accommodations for
Absence Seizures
• send home lesson notes so parents can review material
child may have missed during seizure
• allow additional time to complete time - regulated tests
(as allowed)
• may require tutoring or summer school to keep pace

8. Partial Seizures
• Simple partial seizures result in an impairment related to
the part of the brain affected by the seizure (i.e.
memory, motor function, emotions, etc)
• Complex partial seizures result in a lack of awareness of
surroundings, but person maintains their mobility.

9. First Aid:
Complex Partial
• guard the child from harm; steer them gently away from
dangerous areas such as stairways, outside doors of
buildings or areas where they may encounter hard or
sharp objects
• allow the child “walk out” the seizure (typically 2-4
minutes)
• DO NOT tightly physically restrict child’s movements as
they may resist, resulting in injury
• Accommodation: send lesson plan home with child so
parent can review material with them

10. Tonic-Clonic Seizures
• formerly called grand mal
• most systemic form of seizure
• typically lasts 2-4 minutes, but can last much
longer
• symptoms include convulsions, loss of bladder
control, shallow breathing, grinding motion to
the teeth, loss of awareness

11. First Aid: Tonic Clonic
• protect from harm by moving away any objects the
student may strike during convulsive activity
• protect their head from hitting any hard surfaces; use soft
materials as a barrier or cradle gently; do not hold head
rigidly
• turn the person on their side to allow fluids to escape their
mouth and keep their tongue from blocking airway
• time the seizure
• DO NOT put anything a person’s mouth when they are
having a seizure… do not give any fluids for 45 minutes
after a seizure ends

12. Seizure
Emergencies
911 should be called in the event of any of the following
situations:
• First time seizure
• Seizures lasting more than 4 minutes
• Seizures occur in clusters
• Student is pregnant or has diabetes
• Student is injured
• When defined as a seizure emergency in the Seizure
Action Plan/IEP/ 504 plan

13. Seizure Action Plan
• One page quick reference plan put together by
school, student’s physician and parents
• Provides quick access to important information(phone
contacts, meds, doctor’s phone #, what constitutes a
seizure emergency
• Describes what that individual child’s seizures look like
• Should be developed in conjunction with the child’s
IEP/504/SST

14. Resources
• Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia
www.epilepsyga.org (800) 527-7105
• Epilepsy Classroom
www.epilepsyclassroom.org
• Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta
www.choa.org
• www.epilepsy.com
• Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
www.cdc.gov/epilepsy