Seizure Recognition

When the only symptoms of a seizure disorder are frequent episodes of blank staring and unresponsiveness, the teacher is often the first adult to notice them.

Many children have been diagnosed and successfully treated because of an alert teacher.

The following are the most common signs of possible seizure activity:

• Brief staring spells (5-10 seconds) in which the child does not respond to direct attempts to gain his attention.
• Periods of confusion.
• Head dropping.
• Sudden loss of muscle tone.
• Episodes of rapid blinking, or of the eyes rolling upwards.
• Inappropriate movements of the mouth or face, accompanied by a blank expression.
• Aimless, dazed behavior, including walking or repetitive movements that seem inappropriate to the environment.
• Involuntary jerking of an arm or leg.

Observing a single instance of any of the these actions is no proof a child has a seizure disorder. It could be caused by other things. But if the teacher sees a pattern of this behavior, it should be followed up in whatever manner the school requires when student health is at issue.

Discussion with the school nurse or principal, followed by a brief report to the parents, is one way to proceed.

Only a doctor can diagnose epilepsy, of course, so the teacher's role should be to tell the parents what has been observed and suggest that they may want to mention these episodes to the child's doctor since they seem to be interfering with his performance at school. Leave it at that. Don't offer a diagnosis.

If a teacher observes the seizure, a written report of the sequence of events can be very helpful to the doctor.