School struggle leads to plea over epilepsy
LABELLED a “daydreamer” by primary school teachers, Swansea University graduate Lydia Williams was put into a special educational needs class and told she wouldn’t be able to go to mainstream high school – but in fact she had epilepsy. With daily help from her parents and grandparents she was able to go on to high school and university, where she finally found out what was wrong more than a decade later.
Lydia, now aged 21, was diagnosed with epilepsy aged 20 in her final year at university last summer after a lifetime of not knowing why she went blank and daydreamed.
Now on daily medication, the Swansea University business and marketing studies graduate is calling for more awareness of epilepsy among young people, saying schools and parents may be labelling children wrongly.
“People think epilepsy is about being on the floor having a seizure, but it often isn’t like that, “said Lydia. “During my time at primary school I was always slightly behind my classmates academically and would struggle to focus in class from time to time. Teachers would tell my parents I wasn’t listening and wasn’t focusing. My parents noticed my blank stares but didn’t think it was epilepsy.
“Towards the end of my time at primary school, it was estimated on my school report that I would not pass the subjects required to move up to high school. I eventually gained not only my GCSES, but also my A-levels and a 2:1 degree.”
But Lydia says she only managed that with help from her family after school, and supportive teachers at St Teilo’s High in Cardiff, although it still wasn’t recognised she had epilepsy.
Eventually she got the grades she needed and went on to university, but she was still having blank stares and absences.
Lydia said: “Nobody recognised these ‘blank stares’ would be later diagnosed as seizures related to my epilepsy. It was not until I, myself, considered that it was worth seeing a GP about my blank stares.”
Lydia believes other children may be undiagnosed, and says all teacher training should include information about how to spot “invisible disabilities”.
“I do think epilepsy goes under the radar,” she said.
The charity Young Epilepsy warns some children are labelled naughty when they are having absences, and is urging teachers to look out for epilepsy.