I have epilepsy which can keep me off school for a while sometimes. Whenever I go in I'm not considered "cool" or "popular" or a person that is fun to be around, people just see me as the sick kid. If they really got to know me I'm actually quite fun and not just like the label people give me. I've tried hard to seem like everyone else, not like I have "special needs" which I hate people labelling me as. When I first went into highschool a couple of years ago I was fine, not Ill a lot at all, nobody apart from people from my all school knew, but then I started to get sick. People figured out who I was and I wasn't really treated the same. I want to know what to do in this situation, everyone treats me like a little kid just because of my epilepsy, not considering me as my age, help. 😣☹️
Sam
Hi there,
It can take a lot of courage to speak out about things that really matter to you and you have done a great job in explaining how things are for you.
The way you describe being treated differently because you have a physical illness isn’t okay. You say that they treat you like a little kid and although I’m not sure exactly how people are treating you, it sounds like it’s different to how other people are treated and that feels like it could be a form of bullying if you are left out of things or ignored or spoken down to. You deserve to be treated equally with other learners at school regardless of your epilepsy or any other issues.
Perhaps a starting point for getting things changed would be to speak to an adult you trust who could help you, such as a teacher or a family member. It can be difficult knowing what to say or the right time to say it, but there are some tips on asking an adult for help.
You mentioned that if people got to know you they would see that you are quite fun. It could be worth thinking how you can get this point over to other people you'd like to be friends with. There are some tips on how to make friends which you might like to try. This includes joining a club, where you could meet people with similar interests. Or perhaps there are other people labelled as special needs in your school who could be feeling the same way as you and would really like to be in a friendship group. Perhaps you could speak to a teacher at school about you meeting up and see how it goes.
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
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