My brother has epilepsy

[Timab]

Hi, I just joined these forums today. My name's Tim.

So, my brother has epilepsy. Actually most of my family does, but he's the only one that gets the tonic clonic seizures. And, you know, I haven't really been all that supportive over the last 10+ years he's had to live with this disease (and really my parents haven't either). He's been living with depression for almost as long as I've known him.

He's been in BD (behavioral disorder) classes since middleschool, and alternative schools. He really hasn't gotten a very good education. And, he's really having a hard time finding a job. He's gotten straight F's the last, idk, about 6-8 semesters of school dating back to high school, and into college. He's 27 years old now, and it looks like he's finally starting to take control of his life.

He wants to go back to college and he's narrowed his major down to 2. Either Culinary Arts, or Computer Programming. He definately has shown passion for both subjects. I'm really excited that he's finally starting to move forward with his life, and want to show him some support. I've been trying to play up the computer science, because I really don't like the idea of him playing with sharp knives and hot surfaces all day long. It seems like a dangerous profession for him to choose, imo.

He's really sensitive to these kind of things. He says he doesn't want to live in fear of his disease. He's not going to let things like that stop him from doing the things that make him happy. I think he can be a very happy and successful computer programmer, and I really want him to be. The culinary thing kind of makes me nervous though.

He also has diabetes.

I was wondering what kinds of careers have people with epilepsy been sucessful at? I think he's at a point in his life where he's deciding what he wants to do with his life. If not for his epilepsy, he wouldn't have trouble finding work. He's had a lot of job/career opportunities that he's turned down because of his epilepsy (plummer, electrician, etc.) I just want to make sure he makes the right choice.

Thank you in advance.

[Nakamova]

Hi Tim, welcome to CWE!

With the exception of a few particular fields, just about any job is open to someone with epilepsy. At issue are how well-controlled a person's seizures are, and whether the job has stresses or triggers that might make the epilepsy worse. Your brother should be realistic about his level of seizure control, and figure that into the equation. I agree that computer programmer sounds safer than chef, but if he's doing well, then the latter career might work out fine. I think it's great that you are concerned for your brother and want to give him advice, but keep in mind that he's 27 and it really is his choice to make. You can help him by being a sounding board, and offering gentle suggestions and plenty of support.

You might be interested in these threads from the CWE archives:
Good jobs for people with epilepsy
Epilepsy and Work
Job help required
Good employment for someone with atypical absence seizures?

Best,
Nakamova

[momof3boys]

I agree with Nakamova. Ive had Epilepsy all my life and have been told you can pretty much have any job, as long as your seizures are controlled. Ive worked since age 14. My first job was at a donut shop on the weekends, then I went to working in the fast food and during that job, I had a grand mal seizure. I think it was a grand mal, because I was taken to the hospital and dont recall any of it. That made me nervous going back, since my seizure was when I was around the grill area when it took place. But they put me in a area where I wasnt going to get injured badly if I did have another seizure. I hope your brother gets into a good program he loves!