Frequency and Duration of Seizures

Home > Strong Foundations > How Epilepsy Can Affect Learning > Frequency and Duration of Seizures

How often, the severity and when the child is having seizures can affect learning.

  • Night-time seizures can increase daytime fatigue and sleepiness making attention, concentration and consequently, learning difficult.
  • Daytime seizures directly affect alertness, memory and concentration.
  • Even a single seizure during the school day can cause a child to forget what they have just learned and may have trouble retaining information afterwards.
  • Sometimes they cannot remember much about what happened just before or for some time after the seizure.
  • Children with poorly controlled or frequent seizures may have to miss a lot of school.
  • Absence seizures can occur dozens of times a day and create gaps in learning.
  • Prolonged seizures and status epilepticus can have significant long term impact on the brain and learning.

 

Click on the video to hear Dr Kate Riney, Paediatric Neurologist and Epileptologist, speak about the impact of epilepsy on learning.

Epilepsy and learning