Manon's pen stops mid mock exam, and the card slipped into her pencil case keeps the supervisor from calling emergency services within the minute
A card slipped into Manon's pencil case, and the supervisor knows how to recognise a dissociative episode: speak softly, name what's around her, wait for her to reconnect, rather than calling emergency services within the minute for a state that is neither a cardiac event nor a loss of consciousness.
This case concerns a 17 year old girl prone to dissociative episodes (a sense of disconnection from her body or surroundings, a blank stare, no response for several minutes), which can occur in class without any warning sign an unprepared adult would recognise.
Manon's mock exam
Manon's pen stops mid sentence. First day of the mock exams, room 214, 8:45am: she has just received her history and geography paper and is staring at a spot on the wall, not moving or answering when the supervisor asks if she's alright.
The supervisor, who doesn't know Manon, hesitates between calling emergency services and waiting. A classmate sitting nearby warns her: inside Manon's pencil case is a card written by her mother explaining what to do. The supervisor finds it and reads it in a few seconds: speak in a calm voice, name what's around her (the room, the time, her own first name), and wait for eye contact to return without shaking or grabbing her.
Three minutes later, Manon blinks, picks her pen back up and finishes her paper in the time remaining. No ambulance was called for an episode that, once identified, was no longer a life threatening emergency, and the school nurse, informed afterwards, simply noted the incident in the follow up file.
- You write it
- The QR is in place
- The reader scans
- Understood, without explaining again
Where to place the QR code for this case
A dissociative episode can happen anywhere on school grounds, not just at the nurse's office. The information therefore needs to be findable by the first adult present, not only by the school nurse.
- Folded card in the pencil case, slipped between the pens, noticeable to a classmate or supervisor who needs to react within seconds.
- Laminated card in the school card holder, next to the canteen card, visible as soon as it's taken out for a classroom check.
- Label inside the pencil case, printed from a standard A4 sheet of labels, which stays in place all school year.
- Link shared with the nurse's office and the student welfare officer at the start of the year, so the full card is accessible without waiting for the teenager to find it herself.
The rule of thumb: the first person present must be able to act before the nurse arrives, not only the nurse.
Ready to use text templates
The following sentences are a starting point for explaining to a supervisor or teacher how to react to a dissociative episode. They can be copied onto the card or rephrased in your own words.
For the "Introduction" section
"My name is [first name], I'm [age] years old. I have dissociative disorders: I can sometimes disconnect for a few minutes, with a blank stare, not answering. I'm not unconscious and I'm not having a cardiac event, I come back gradually if I'm given time."
For the "How to help" section
"You can: speak in a calm, steady voice, name concrete things around me (the room, the time, your first name), stay next to me without touching me abruptly, and wait until I reconnect before asking me questions."
For the "To avoid" section
"To avoid: shaking me or grabbing me to make me react, calling emergency services within the first minute, speaking loudly or moving around me agitatedly, or asking me to describe what just happened right afterwards."
Conditions related to this case
This case relates to dissociative disorders, which can cause a temporary disconnection from the body or surroundings without loss of consciousness or a systematic life threatening emergency. The linked page details how this works and the support that helps an adult at the school who is encountering the situation for the first time.
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