Epilepsy can affect learning and behaviour in a number of ways.
The effect of seizures
Your child’s behaviour and ability to learn may be affected in the period of time before, during and after a seizure.
Before a seizure
In the hours or days before a seizure, some children may get a ‘funny feeling’, or act confused, anxious or irritable. The medical word for this is ‘prodrome’.
During a seizure
If your child has focal seizures, they may behave in unusual ways during the seizure. These behaviours may include gagging, lip smacking, running, screaming, crying, or laughing. Your child will have no control over these behaviours during the seizure. They won’t always be aware of what they are doing.
If your child has absence seizures, these can be hard to spot. Sometimes they can be mistaken for daydreaming and not paying attention in class. Make sure your child’s teacher is aware of how they may behave during these seizures.
After a seizure
Children can feel confused, sleepy or have problems with vision or speech after a seizure. Your child’s awareness and memory may be affected too. This can last for several hours afterwards. Some children may feel anxious or unhappy for hours or days later.
The more seizures a child has, the more it will impact their learning. For example, some children may have hundreds of short absence seizures in a day.
This will have a major effect on their ability to interact with the world around them. This can lead to learning difficulties. Talk to the school about how they can support with this.
The cause or type of epilepsy
Some children have epilepsy caused by a brain disorder. As well as causing epilepsy, the disorder may also lead to problems with their development, behaviour and learning.
Children with some types of epilepsy have a lot of epileptic activity in their brain, even when they don’t appear to be having seizures. This can happen while awake or asleep. If this happens a lot, it can directly affect a child’s memory and how they learn.
Some types of epilepsy are known to have a particular link with learning or behaviour problems.
Epilepsy treatment
Epilepsy medicines can cause side effects with mood, behaviour or ability to learn. These may include hyperactivity, irritability, aggression, and problems with memory, concentration or understanding. Some epilepsy medicines are more likely than others to cause these problems.
In general, the higher the dose and the more epilepsy medicines that your child is on, the more likely they are to have these side effects. If epilepsy medicines control your child’s seizures, they may have positive effects on learning and behaviour.
If your child is suitable for other treatments, like epilepsy surgery, this could mean less side effects related to medication.
Weighing up the risks, side effects and benefits of any treatment can be hard. Talk to your epilepsy specialist or healthcare team if you need help with this.
Time off school and education
Your child may miss periods of school and education due to their seizures and epilepsy. They may need time off to go to medical appointments or to recover from seizures.
This will impact learning and participation in the wider aspects of education. There is information below about how schools can help support your child with this.
Related conditions
Children with epilepsy often have other conditions that can affect learning and behaviour. These may include:
Sleep
Epilepsy can also cause sleep problems. These include interrupted and reduced sleep. Some learning and memory functions are restored during sleep, so poor sleep can affect this.
Sleep problems can have a real impact on behaviour and how well your child can learn when they are awake.
The social and emotional impact of epilepsy
Having epilepsy can have an effect on your child’s emotional wellbeing. They might feel frightened about having seizures, or worry about being different from other children.
They might feel isolated from their friends. Other children might be unkind about their epilepsy if they don’t understand it. All these things could affect your child’s mood and behaviour.
It’s important that the school is aware of these difficulties that your child might be facing. This can help them to provide the appropriate support with your child’s learning, behaviour and wellbeing.
