To keep DS off school tomorrow after classmate’s seizure?

Agree with others saying that if you've not actually witnessed a tonic clonic seizure, you won't know how disturbing and upsetting it is.

That said OP, I think unless he is really distressed in the morning and clearly not coping for whatever reason, send him to school as normal, with lots of hugs and reassurance.

I think over reaction but then I used to teach a girl who had seizures frequently so her classmates would have been off all the time. They can look scary though and he did a great job so definitely talk to him about it and help him process. The boy is likely to be absolutely fine.

I agree with your bottom point. I’ve had tonic clonic seizures before (I assume this is what OP’s son witnessed) and I saw the look of terror on my partners face and he’s a grown man. They are understandably scary to witness.

My husband has tonic clinic seizures they are very scary to witness.
I'm on edge for days after he's had a seizure.
I find the beast thing to do is keep busy to stop my thinking about it.

Your son did a great job well done. But I'd send him to school to be with his friends and keep him busy.

I think it’s better he goes back to school. The feelings he’s experiencing are normal for health care workers and first responders. Honestly it would be more concerning if he were completely unaffected. I’d send him back to school and check in on him regularly over the next few days. If he’s ruminating on it, dreaming about it or avoiding things because of it it will be time to seek help.

In the meantime I’d talk to his contact at SJA, see what they suggest to support him.

I agree many of these replies are clearly from people who’ve never seen someone have a seizure (it’s very confronting the first time) and who’ve never offered help in an emergency.

I would ask if his St johns ambulance trainer could have debrief/ talk with him

Sounds like he did well. But keeping him off school is madly OTT! Time for some phlegm & resilience.

People saying "he shouldn't be doing SJA if he's upset by this" are being ridiculous. He's a child, he's not a seasoned medical professional!
I've seen plenty of Medical Students, trainee paramedics and nursing students break down after (or sometimes during!) an incident, and these are adults. The majority went on to develop their skills, gain confidence and become really capable. OP's DS stayed calm in the moment and remembered his First Aid training. He's allowed a wobble afterwards!
Edit: I don't think a day off school is necessary, but some of these replies are way too harsh

It's obviously not pleasant seeing people having seizures but it does happen in day to day life. I don't think it should warrant a day off school just because someone witnessed it.

I had a couple classmates over the years who had petty mal and grand mal seizures. The school taught us what to do and not to panic etc.

I also have had colleagues who suffer from them. So it will probably happen at some point anyway and it's better to know what to expect.

I think it would be a good idea if the school to teach first aid to everyone and to educate them about epilepsy and other seizure disorders.

I'm epileptic and one time my children (both primary aged) needed to help when I had a seizure. They called the emergency services and were fantastic. Admittedly we had prepared them with what to do but they still went into school the next day as it helps them move on. As long as you make school aware what has happened and your child also knows who they can talk to if needed then that's all you really need to do.

If he's been volunteering with SJA, he needs to learn to deal with these issues. It sounds like he did really well, but he can't have a day off in between every incident he witnesses. If he really genuinely needs this, he probably shouldn't be volunteering for that particular organisation..

EDIT: Sorry, to add, my DP has epilepsy so I do absolutely know how horrible they are to witness!

If you keep him off, he'll just spend the whole day thinking about it, and could even start to dread going back to school in case something like that happens. I would send him in.

Bless him. I have seizures and I know how scary it can be for the people who see it- more so than for me, I don’t even remember them.

I think what would be better than keeping him off would be taking him for a treat at the weekend for his bravery and kindness helping out. Means he doesn’t look on yesterday as bad and has something nice to look forward to.

I'd send him in, but maybe call or e mail the school to advise that he's feeling a bit weird about it all.

Fair play to him though, for stepping up!

I work in a school and have witnessed several children having seizures, there is also Epilepsy in my family so I understand how frightening it can be. It sounds like your DS did brilliantly!

I agree with pp saying send him to school but let his HOY know he is still unsettled by what happened and may need to talk about it. Avoiding his normal routine and spending the day at home thinking about the seizure risks making it 'bigger' in his mind.

Your DS needs to know that it is normal to feel shaken when you have witnessed something upsetting. He also needs to learn that these feelings are temporary, and he can cope with them. That's not the same as dismissing the feelings or saying he should just 'get over it'.

I think it’s an overreaction. Think about how lacking in resilience children are starting to become. I certainly see it as a teacher of 20+ years. He should see it as something upsetting he managed to cope with, rather than something that made him require a day off school. He’s not the ill child.

I was a bit older than your DS when I first witnessed a seizure. It hit hard, but like your ds, my first aid training kicked in. I'm in my 50s now and I can still picture it. However, I did just carry on (I was working in an outdoor ed centre). I suspect your DS would get a hero's welcome at school tomorrow. He's done plenty!.

Well done to your DS. My son is a similar age. I would send him into school rather than try to shield him.

It was upsetting for him, I am sure but kids need to learn to live with some discomfort. It's part of life.

It’s not an overreaction to feel that your DS needs to process what happened, and great that you are sensitive to his needs.
would a day off help him do that? Probably not, unless you were able to arrange the debrief with SJA that some pp have proposed.

Overreaction. Huge overreaction.

You making a big deal of it isn't going to help. It's happened, he did well, you've told us all how well he did and we've all said what a good boy, it's over. Just send him to school as normal tomorrow

I think keeping him off is likely to make the event feel more traumatic in the long run. Instead, I'd call his school and ask them to check in with him during the day. Ask them to let him go home if he's really struggling, but give him the chance to manage his feelings and carry on first.

My son is the one in his class who has seizures. Frequently & despite medication. Never tonic clonics though, which I think is the type you are talking about - with convulsions.

DS' epilepsy is hard enough for us all to come to terms with, but I would feel awful to think that seeing his body do something it has no control over traumatised another child to the point they needed to have a day off. As far as I'm aware, his classmates have not done this & they have had some information on what to do & not to do. They accept it as part of DS & look out for him.

Well done your son.

But tomorrow is another day and he needs to crack on.

He did brilliantly because he knew what to do. he's going over it because learning how to do something would be completely different to doing it in an emergency situation. I hope you do not prevent him going in tomorrow as he will miss out on the chance to chat about it with his peers that were there. That will be a lot better than being at home, possibly ruminating