A child with epilepsy can march, camp, climb, cook over a wood stove, and earn Honors. Epilepsy is a neurological condition that shows up in seizures, not a sentence that closes doors. Millions of people live with it and lead full lives. What changes in your Club is not the size of the child's dream, it is the readiness of the adults around them.
This text is for you, Counselor, Director, or parent, who wants to do the right thing and sometimes freezes in fear. Fear is natural. But poorly informed fear becomes overprotection, and overprotection excludes as deeply as prejudice does. The good news is that readiness dismantles fear. When you know what a seizure is and what to do about it, there is room left for what really matters: letting this child belong.
Here you will see the types of seizure, the step-by-step first aid, the triggers that camp creates without meaning to, medication management, and how to keep safety in the water, around fire, and at height without turning the child into a prisoner of their own diagnosis.
What epilepsy is (and what it is not)
Epilepsy is a neurological condition in which groups of neurons fire in a disorderly way, producing seizures. The seizure is the event; epilepsy is the tendency to have them repeatedly. Between one seizure and another, in the vast majority of cases, the child is exactly like any other in the Club: they learn, play, get tired, have talents and stubborn streaks. The condition does not define who they are.
It is worth undoing myths that still circulate. Epilepsy is not contagious. It is not a sign of low intelligence. It is not madness. And it is not a weakness of character nor a lack of faith. These are old ideas that hurt, and you, as a leader, have the power not to repeat them in front of the Unit. The right word matters: speak of a person with epilepsy, not an epileptic as if the illness were their identity.
Many children control their seizures well with medication and go long periods without any. Others have more frequent seizures. Every case is unique, and the ones who truly know that case are the family and the doctor. That is why your first tool for inclusion is not a manual: it is an honest conversation with the parents about how epilepsy shows up in that particular child.
The types of seizure you might see at the club
Not every seizure is that dramatic image of falling and convulsing. There are many types, and two are the ones you are most likely to encounter. Knowing how to tell them apart avoids both unnecessary panic and dangerous inaction.
An absence seizure usually lasts only a few seconds, generally five to fifteen. The child stops, has a fixed stare, as if they had switched off for a moment, and then returns to normal without remembering the episode. It is easy to confuse with inattention or daydreaming. If a Pathfinder has these repeated blackouts during the meeting, do not scold them for being off in the clouds; observe and talk with the parents, it may be a silent seizure.
A tonic-clonic seizure is the most recognizable and the most frightening. The child loses consciousness, the body stiffens (tonic phase), and then come the rhythmic jerks of arms and legs (clonic phase). There may be drooling, tongue biting, loss of urine, and a moaning sound. It generally lasts one to three minutes and is followed by a period of confusion and tiredness. It looks serious, and the fright is real, but most of the time the seizure resolves on its own. Your role is to protect, not to interrupt. To reinforce your readiness in Club emergencies, it is also worth mastering basic first aid concepts, like those of CPR.
First aid during a seizure: the step by step
This is the practical heart of this guide. Memorize it, drill it with the board, and post it on the wall of the headquarters. The golden rule is: stay calm and protect the child from getting hurt, because the seizure itself you cannot and should not try to stop.
The step by step for a tonic-clonic seizure is simple and you can do it: protect the head by placing something soft underneath (a folded jacket works); move hard objects, corners, and sharp edges out of the way; lay the child on their side (recovery position) so saliva can drain and they do not choke; loosen tight clothing at the neck; and time it from the first second, actually looking at the clock, because time deceives us when we are frightened.
There are three things you must never do, and they die hard in the popular imagination. Do not put anything in the child's mouth: not a spoon, not a finger, not a cloth. They will not swallow their tongue, that is a myth, and you only risk breaking teeth, injuring the mouth, or being bitten. Do not hold or forcibly restrain the body during the jerks, as that can cause injuries. And do not give water, food, or medicine by mouth while they are not fully conscious.
Stay close until the seizure passes and the child recovers. On waking, they will be confused and tired; speak calmly, tell them where they are, reassure them. Call your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU 192) immediately if the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes, if one seizure follows another without recovery, if it is the child's first ever seizure, if there is a serious injury, difficulty breathing afterward, or if it happened in the water. Keep the onlookers away: the child does not need an audience, they need space and dignity.
Read alsoBlind or low-vision Pathfinder: inclusion in the ClubTriggers that camp creates without meaning to
Camp is beautiful precisely because it takes everyone out of their routine. But some classic seizure triggers live in exactly that break from routine, and the attentive leader anticipates rather than reacts. Preventing triggers means reducing the chance the child will need first aid.
Sleep deprivation is trigger number one and the most common at camps. Nights spent up by the campfire, late hours talking in the tent, and early wake-ups form the perfect recipe for a seizure. For this child specifically, gently negotiate a firmer bedtime. It is not punishment nor exclusion: it is care, and it can be arranged discreetly with them and the family so as not to expose them in front of their peers.
Extreme heat and dehydration also weigh in. Long marches under the midday sun, little water, and physical exhaustion open the door. Ensure breaks, shade, and an always-full canteen, which is good for the whole Unit anyway. Another trigger is light: for a portion of people with epilepsy (the so-called photosensitive), strobe lights, flashing screens, and fast flash effects at parties and performances can set off a seizure. If your evening program has intense flashing light, warn the family beforehand and offer an alternative. Intense stress and skipping medication complete the list of the most avoidable triggers.
Medication and medical form: the arrangement that protects
Daily medication is what keeps many seizures under control, and skipping doses is one of the most dangerous and most avoidable triggers. In the rush of camp, the medicine time slips away easily. That is why it cannot depend on the memory of a tired, excited child. It needs a system.
Before the event, set up a clear arrangement with the parents and the responsible Counselor. Define who keeps the medication (ideally an adult, in a safe, labeled place), at what times it is given, and how this will be done discreetly so as not to expose the child. Ask the family for the medication set aside, labeled with name and dose, and written instructions. If the doctor prescribed any rescue medication for a prolonged seizure, understand exactly when and how to use it, or confirm that only the emergency service will do so.
None of this works without a good medical form. It should contain the diagnosis, the types of seizure that child usually has, the typical duration, the known triggers, the medications and times, the family and doctor contacts, and the agreed action plan. This form stays with the Counselor and the Directorate, protected as sensitive health information. It exists to care, not to label, and it must not become corridor gossip.
Water, fire, and height: safety without becoming a prison
Here lies the most delicate balance of inclusion. The Club's risk activities do not need to be forbidden to the child with epilepsy; they need to be adapted with an agreed chaperone. The right question is never can they?, but rather how do we get them to take part safely?.
Water demands the most serious care, because a seizure in the water is a real drowning danger. The rule is close, individual supervision: a designated adult or older peer who stays beside them, within arm's reach, the whole time in the pool, river, or sea. A life jacket helps, but it does not replace the human eye. Align this with the water safety team before any water activity. With that supervision, they swim and have fun like everyone else.
Fire and height follow the same logic of an attentive chaperone. Near the campfire, they sit with an adult nearby and do not stay alone feeding the flames. On a zip line, climbing, or high pioneering, ensure double equipment checks, individual support, and, when the doctor advises, an adjustment to the activity. The goal is always the same: reduce the chance the child gets hurt if a seizure comes at the worst moment, without taking the experience away from them. A child left out of everything learns they are a problem. A child who is accompanied learns they are cared for.
Inclusion without overprotection (and a word of faith)
After all the practical preparation comes the most important part and the easiest to get wrong: treating this child as a child. Overprotection looks like love, but it sends a cruel message: you are fragile, you are different, you cannot handle it. Let them take on responsibilities, make the ordinary mistakes of their age, compete, lead, play rough, and fall on the ground like every Pathfinder falls. Their dignity depends on you not treating them like cotton wool.
Take care of the Unit too. Without exposing the child beyond what the family allows, instruct the peers simply on what to do if a seizure happens: call a leader, do not form a circle, do not laugh, help protect. Informed peers become a support network, not an audience for mockery. If teasing arises, treat it like any bullying situation: firmly and without drama, protecting whoever was hurt.
For families of faith, the Bible offers an anchor. Psalm 139:14 says: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well" (ESV). This child was formed with purpose, epilepsy and all. And when weakness presses in, it is worth remembering God's answer to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (ESV). A note of care when reading Mark 9, where Jesus heals a boy who had convulsions: the passage reveals Jesus' compassion, but it must not be used to suggest that epilepsy is possession or a lack of faith. That hurts and it is not true. What that text teaches the Club is the gesture of Jesus who, "took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose" (ESV). To lift up, to welcome, to include. That is the invitation.