I can't see it as a disability

[Blue Cat]

I agree with Superman - I've just got a seizure disorder and do not want it seen as anything else. I do not let it stop me (somewhere between never give up/never surrender and fear is the little mind killer). I find that the main effect is when my husband says I'm fine and can do anything (eg ride our motorcycles and anything else) yet ask me if I feel OK or get mad if he can't can't see me for a moment in a crowded place or worry about the idea of my swimming alone since he knows of someone in a hospital who is vegged because of having a seizure like that), which then makes me question how "OK" I am (since I've only had 4 seizure's I don't know why the fear is so bad). I love those who are positive about it. I try, isn't always easy.

[Dtwitcheffect]

i dunno about every one else but i have no chioce but to see epilepsy as a disability/brain disorder etc...i can't work/hold down a job, i can't drive and i is a cause of so many of the fights in the house. now chuck into that mix the fact i Have IIH and am facing brain surgery and 3-4mths of recovery as well as 6mths on blood thinners it makes independance and living by my self a whole lot less achievable as well as i have night seizures which was picked up in hospital in the emergency department...just twitches

[phoenix15]

i dunno about every one else but i have no chioce but to see epilepsy as a disability/brain disorder etc...i can't work/hold down a job, i can't drive and i is a cause of so many of the fights in the house. now chuck into that mix the fact i Have IIH and am facing brain surgery and 3-4mths of recovery as well as 6mths on blood thinners it makes independance and living by my self a whole lot less achievable as well as i have night seizures which was picked up in hospital in the emergency department...just twitches

Hey I'm so sorry for what you're going through. It sounds very rough. You're still here on earth, right? You can still see the sun in the sky and "smell the flowers". Try to think positive, as difficult as that may be.

[petero]

Or a disease or a disorder...I don't even like the prefix "dis"
Anyone else feel that way?
I refuse to allow it to hold me back

Still it gets frustrating when I have to explain to people over and over again...It's like if someone says "I have cancer" everyone remembers that and always ask how they are doing from day to day

Most of the time though I see it as a superpower...Something to help me see things differently

If I sprayed shaving cream on my bathroom wall I'd look at it and see one of two things. Either I see a work of art and decide to just leave the shaving cream there or I look at it and wonder why I made such a mess...

I don't like "dis" either
often I see it as a third-eye type of perceptive ability that we as ordinary beings can't comprehend, so it blows our fuses
but as though our brains have been entrusted as being most diligent and sure to be able to evolve a new perceptive skill for humanity
at least that feels cool to think in those terms

but periods I recall I sure wouldn't describe as "ease" - hence dis-ease I can tolerate
and periods are not orderly either - so the same with dis-order

but "dis-ability" I've always had a problem with

from the perspective of electronics,
having radar during WWII wasn't a dis-ability - it was a different way of experiencing stimulus phenomena - although if someone in 1900 were transported forward in time and placed in front of a radar screen they'd have no idea what it was
I like to think perhaps that's what seizures are like, but from a physiological sensory perspective

orgasms stimulate many many parts of the brain
but orgasms aren't classified as a disease

at least not yet - once a pill is invented that can control orgasms maybe they will be - lmao


I'm trying to improve my mood!

[rhiz]

I dislike being referred to as "disabled" and it always catches me out on formfilling. I'm not disabled and it doesn't effect my life (bar the 12 hours after having one which is uncommon now) in any way at all, I still drink, I still go out clubbing, I still do what everyone else can do apart from drive.
I've been judged on it before by potential employers and people at my school and college, they just don't understand because they (like most people) were poorly educated on what epilepsy is.

There is two positive things about it in the UK though - free bus pass if you're rejected a driving license AND some employers will automatically give you an interview if you tell them you're epileptic and other firms have to have a certain percentage of "disabled" employees!
That's how I look at epilepsy these days - I look mainly at the positives that will get me somewhere, not the negatives that will hold me back.

[bombom]

Hey! Well I just finished reading everyone's opinion on what they think about disability. I woud like to say to those of you who are against it. Well I'm on disability, and I hate it!!! I've had many people look down on me because of it. I use to be able to live on my own, work, and go to school. Now the companies will not hire me because I have too many gran-mals so they consider me a high risk. I haven't even been able to go back to college because of the same reason. Except people right away want to judge me because of it. No one understands that it sucks not being able to work, and go to school. Only because since I'm always having to be at home and not be able to be out in the community as much as I use to. Some of my family and friends tell me to try to volunteer. Oh believe me I have been trying to do so but at every place I try to volunteer I have to fill out a form because they have to check your records before they can accept me. It's always we will call you, and they never do even when I keep checking in they always come up with they don't have openings. I know it's just like the jobs and colleges no one wants to take responsibility should I have a seizure and get hurt during my time of being there. I'm glad that there're some of you with seizure that're able to live a independent life. But we all have to realize that you can't ditch the word disability because our chemical imbalance is diff.

[skeeter1271]

epilepsy is a DISORDER. our brains do not have the right chemical makeup.

With that said.... I have done everything I have ever wanted to do. It has not held me back. It sometimes gives me great hurddles which also give me skill sets that i would not have had if not for my disorder.

It is not a disability unless medications, and other treatments have not worked to stop the seizures. I function normally as my friends without epilepsy so why should I get protection from the ada.

the only way i see needing the ada is if one is not controlled and all treatments have been exhausted.

ughh. we are stronger than you think and have louder voices too. don't treat me different than the guy next door.