Medical Conditions Training: Epilepsy

A child who keeps drifting off in lessons might be daydreaming. They might also be having absence seizures, sometimes dozens a day, and missing your instructions every time. Teachers are often the first to notice.

Knowing the seizures you're most likely to see in school makes it far easier to stay calm when one happens. The ACTION mnemonic gives you six steps to hold onto in the moment, from cushioning their head to noting the time, and you'll know when a seizure means calling 999 straight away. There's a demonstration of giving buccal midazolam from a pre-filled syringe, too.

It's taught by a school nurse, who also covers what epilepsy can mean for teenagers: growth spurts that upset their medication, and the pull to ignore it all and just be like their friends.