Childhood Epilepsy and: A Study into the Factors Affecting School Inclusion

Within the UK approximately 1 in 240 children aged 16 years and under have a diagnosis of epilepsy.

Despite this prevalence, few studies have researched the impact that epilepsy has on children and young people's education and emotional wellbeing.

Guidelines to advise schools in supporting pupils with medical issues refer to the holistic needs of these children, but lack specific strategies that can

support children's learning and emotional wellbeing and do not guide educational professionals in identifying students who require additional support.

Children and young people with epilepsy are at a higher risk of developing internalising difficulties including depression and anxiety and often experience stigma and interpersonal relationship difficulties with peers.

However, the limited available research published from an educational perspective does not enable a systematic literature review focussed specifically on this population.

Therefore the Review Paper systematically reviews the existing research investigating the extent that peer difficulties are related to internalising difficulties in the typical school-aged population.

A total of fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, with peer acceptance reported to be significantly associated with a variety of outcomes measures included in the categorisation of internalising disorders or internalising problems.

The implications that such a relationship may have for supporting all children in educational settings are discussed, as is the potential for generalisation to an epilepsy population.

The Empirical Paper involved an experimental study to identify factors within a student's epilepsy profile and educational setting that support a positive inclusion experience within education.

The study uses quantitative information gathered by surveying teachers and parents of students with epilepsy attending schools in the UK using an adapted inclusion measure.

A range of factors including student focussed variables (for example pupil age and seizure frequency) and school focussed variables (e.g. the presence of a specifically epilepsy trained teacher and type of setting) were examined.

Results identified a number of significant relationships between these variables and scores on the inclusion measure.

Implications for Educational Psychology practice and educational research are discussed.