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A young boy was accused of "misbehaving and daydreaming" in class when he was really having seizures, his mom says.
Stephanie, the mom of Ruben, said she was told by a teacher that her son was behaving poorly in class, not paying attention to lessons, and was distracted by "daydreaming," according to the Mirror.
"Ruben's first teacher was really negative about him and she would speak to me about him misbehaving and daydreaming," Stephanie told the outlet.
The mom recalled being confused about why her little boy was being labeled the "naughty one" and constantly getting in trouble at school. She didn't realize that her son may have a medical condition until Ruben suddenly lost consciousness when they were out for dinner one evening.
"He was six years old and we didn't know what was wrong. Then a few months later, I noticed it for the first time. He just froze up for around 15 seconds," Stephanie said.
Ruben began experiencing momentary blackouts where he would struggle to speak or listen. They appeared like vacant stares. While one teacher wouldn't look past his alleged "behavioral problems," another encouraged Stephanie to take the boy to the doctor.
At the doctor, Ruben was diagnosed with epilepsy and absence seizures and given medication for his condition.
"We were really lucky it all happened quite quickly," Stephanie said. "It is difficult because absence seizures don't get much awareness and are harder to spot."
"Most people expect an epileptic seizure to present as a convulsive seizure where the person may make jerking movements or drop to the floor - this is a generalize tonic-clonic seizure," Kirsten McHale, epilepsy nurse consultant at Young Epilepsy, said. "However, there are so many different types of seizures that people are not so familiar with, such as absence seizures. These momentary blackouts can often be mistaken for daydreaming.
Ruben, now 11, experiences about 15 absence seizures every day. His mom decided to take him out of the public school system and home-school him due to the lack of support and understanding.
"It's difficult for teachers because they've got so many children to manage. I just didn't feel it was working out for him," Stephanie said. "He's much better at focusing one-to-one and happier at home. The pressure of full-time school would be too much for him every day.
Still, the mom said she fears how Ruben will continue to cope with the neurological condition.
"I hope that he will grow out of it but there's a chance it could get worse. It's dawned on me a lot more how dangerous it can be," Stephanie said. "It will impact him so much more as an adult than as a child. He really does need someone with him all of the time. There's been times where he's blacked out in the water or fallen off his bike.
"I worry about him not being able to drive and it will be hard to break that to him," she continued. "I'm glad it was picked up at an early age and this is why it's so important to raise awareness of young epilepsy."
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