We know that unfortunately education can be a challenging experience for some young people with epilepsy, and that the happy experience that school and college should be, just isn't the same for everyone. Ellie felt passionate about sharing her tough experience at school in the hope it would inspire others to speak up and seek help if they found themselves in a similar situation. If you are finding school or college tough, or experiencing anxiety and stress because of your seizures, please get in contact with us. We're here to help you get through it.
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My school experience whilst suffering with epilepsy was torture. I firstly worried that I would lose all my friends or people would not like me for who I am because of it. I used to feel smart but ever since epilepsy hit me, I no longer feel that way. Studying with epilepsy was extremely hard as I couldn’t sit in a lesson without getting bullied, which lead me to lose focus and not have a clue what the teacher was saying. I was always getting stressed by being bullied and worrying about tests.
When I met new friends at school and we got to know each other, I would mention my epilepsy and they would ask certain questions such as, ‘what type do you have? What can trigger your seizures? How often do you have seizures?’. If I spoke to my teachers about my condition, I would explain that I found talking about it hard as I would get lost in my words, and also that if someone said something harsh to me, the words would stay with me, increasing my anxiety.
Due to the fact I was having seizures so often because of the bullying, one big challenge I faced was learning how to stick up for myself which is something I have never really been able to do. All I have ever been able to do is let tears fall from my eyes and drown in them. A second challenge I had to face was to try and sit in a lesson for an hour without letting things get to me. A third was to try and stay strong.
I did and did not overcome my challenges. Due to the fact I was unable to stand up for myself and couldn’t fight back, the teachers suggested I move to the other side of Year 11 where life did get a lot better, but I was still ashamed that I couldn’t stand up for myself. I did get better grades in lessons though, as I was able to focus more in class.
A piece of advice I would give to people who go through the same as me is never let people control you or your emotions. People need to grow up and think ‘would it be funny if I, or someone in my family or that I cared about had epilepsy?’.
I have had many seizures over the past 10 years since being diagnosed. My experiences are flashing lights, stress, and anxiety. I sometimes feel a bit humiliated having seizures around people and my friends, but on the other hand, I feel like it is a good thing as it is a way to show all those that bullied me the pain that can be caused to someone who has epilepsy.
One point I want to add is how I got back up in the end. When I was young, I loved to read, and I still do. When I started getting bullied and losing focus in education, I thought reading a nonfiction book could help me catch up. The GCSE subjects I chose were History, Drama, Food Preparation and Photography. I love History more than anything in the world, but it was one of the subjects I failed at GCSE. The way I got back up was reading History nonfiction books such as ones based on the Holocaust. ‘The Librarian of Auschwitz’ was one of my favourites. Learning how Jewish children kept up their education by hiding books in block 31 followed by describing the atmosphere around them.
I hope you enjoyed reading my story on education.
