Exploring the school attendance of children with epilepsy

• Autor(a) principal: Zanni, Karina Piccin
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Matsukura, Thelma Simões, Maia Filho, Heber de Souza
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Educação Especial (UFSM)
• Texto Completo: http://periodicos.ufsm.br/educacaoespecial/article/view/818
• topic: School; Childhood epilepsy; School attendance; Absenteeism; Schooling.

The childhood epilepsy is a chronic disease that can have an impact in various spheres of life of the child, including academic performance and school attendance. This study aimed to describe and compare the school attendance of children with epilepsy who attend mainstream and special schools. Participants were 56 children aged between 7 and 14 years who attended regular or special schools located in two Brazilian cities of medium size. To collect the information we used two instruments: Data sheet of identification and characterization of the child and Data sheet to record the attendance school. The results showed that children in special schools had higher rates of absenteeism compared to students in regular schools. Additionally, we observed that these children use more drugs and have implications on health more severe than children in regular schools. Thus, it is the childhood epilepsy as a disease complex that brings substantial effects on various areas of children’s lives by reinforcing the need for studies that might expand the knowledge to and the experiences associated with the education of these children.