Epilepsy in the classroom is no longer scary: a total of 6,000 school teachers in Rome and its province have been trained to manage epithectic seizures as part of the project "School is not afraid of seizures" promoted by the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, started in 2016.
In collaboration with the Italian League Against Epilepsy (Lice), the initiative includes the participation of 130 institutes in Rome and its province, 60 of which have been reached in the last 2 years.
The data is presented today, February 12, on the occasion of World Epilepsy Day.
The educational activity is carried out by Bambino Gesù's specialized staff (doctors, psychologists, nurses) through periodic meetings in schools.
Through practical exercises and video tutorials, teachers are prepared to deal with epileptic attacks and correctly administer, when necessary, the drugs capable of interrupting the seizures that occur in the classroom.
From the start of the project to today, hundreds of epileptic seizures have been recorded in participating schools: thanks to the skills acquired through training, epileptic seizures in the classroom have been managed appropriately, calls to 112 have significantly decreased and the number of improper accesses to the emergency room was almost eliminated.
"Since the first editions - underlines Nicola Specchio, head of Neurology of Epilepsy and Movement Disorders of the Child Jesus - the initiative has achieved results above expectations, helping to create a safe and inclusive environment for children and young people with this pathology. Feedback positive reports coming from both parents and schools themselves confirm the role of the project in improving the quality of life of students and push us to continue with the utmost commitment to involve an ever-increasing number of institutes".
On the clinical activity front, the Epilepsy Center is active at the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, a European reference point for assistance and care dedicated to children and adolescents suffering from epilepsy.
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