When a family member suffers from a long-term illness it can have a tremendous impact on the rest of the household. In the case of children it can be particularly difficult for them to cope seeing their loved ones in pain or unwell, with feelings of being left on the side-lines or sadly that they are somehow to blame for their sibling’s illness.
Epilepsy is no exception and a diagnosis undoubtedly affects the entire family, yet many report the lack of information and advice provided by their health care professionals about epilepsy and how it affects siblings and other family members.
Without intention parents may overlook how their other children may be affected by their sibling’s seizures. Commonly they may feel scared, left out, neglected, jealous, resentment and even that they are to blame for what is happening to their brother or sister. Sadly, siblings of epilepsy have been found to be at an increased risk of psychosocial difficulties as they struggle to adapt to the situation.
Education And Inclusion Of Siblings
Education is the key to ensuring siblings don’t experience these negative feelings, by offering them information that provides reassurance and understanding. Furthermore, it’s important that a child can help care for their brother or sister in order to encourage them to feel empowered and able to help deal with a seizure, making them less likely to feel neglected or left out.
Children are remarkably adaptable when given the opportunity to learn and help care for a sibling, particularly in order to prevent school friends and other children from over-reacting to a seizure. However, it is important that a child is never made to feel responsible for managing seizures.
The charity Epilepsy Ontorio has the following tips to ensure siblings feel reassured and included in helping their brother or sister manage their disorder:
- Educate: explain what epilepsy is and what it is not and that their sibling will not die from seizures. Make sure they know they did not cause their sibling’s epilepsy and give them information about how to explain the seizures to other children. It’s also important that they know that epilepsy is not contagious and they will not catch the illness.
- Listen: take time to listen to how they’re feeling about epilepsy in order to ease their worries and frustrations
- One on one time: each child in the family needs time alone with a parent.
- No preferential treatment: it’s important to treat the child with epilepsy in the same way as all the children in the family. Don’t give into temper tantrums for fear of them having a seizure.
- Playtime and social interaction: siblings are essential for helping children develop social skills and it’s important to allow your child with epilepsy to play with their brothers and sisters.
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