Epilepsy and College

[Didn'tknow]

Hello- I've had epilepsy for 20 years some of it was really bad and some of it was pretty fair, while I still have seizures once in a blue moon I know it could be worse.

We're in the process of finding out if our son will be eligible for special ed services, nothing related to epilepsy. Today we went to answer questions about his social history and other standard background questions. I had to answer a few questions about the pregnancy and we were both asked if we were ever placed in special ed/speech/anything along those lines while in school. I answered yes because I was diagnosed while in school and found eligible. When asked why/what for I simply said exactly that. The lady then took a look at her notes from earlier and said "and you have a Bachelors?" While very polite you could tell she was a little surprised. Out of everything in this long questionnaire concerning my son this is what stuck out to me the most.

Is the overall opinion that if someone has epilepsy then chances are lower that they'll go to or even complete college? Even if it's not true? Or perhaps it is? I'm just curious what your thought's are...

 

[Dutch mom]

That is just a silly prejudice.

Whether someone is successful as a student depends on so many factors. Having epilepsy CAN make it more difficult to succeed but not necessarily

Of course there are many e-related factors. How well controlled your seizures are, which type of seizures do you have and how often, how quick do you recover from a seizure, how is your EEG when not having seizures, what causes your seizures, do you have other conditions besides epilepsy, how well can you concentrate, which and how many medications are you on, which side effects do they cause, how are you coping psychologically with having E. etc. etc.

And then there are all those other not e-related factors, how motivated are you, how well does this particular chosen study 'fit' you as a person, what study methods do you use, how do you prepare for exams, how do you function in group tasks, which support do you get from school, teachers, deans, people around you, how intelligent are you etc. etc.

I am a teacher at a Dutch university of applied science for over 21 years. I have seen many intelligent young people start out at one of our bachelor or master programs, students with epilepsy as well as other chronic conditions, disabilities and diseases too. Many of them I have congratulated on their graduation, some even with honours, and I've seen others dropping out. Just as I saw perfectly healthy students dropping out early and others leaving college with their bachelor or master diploma in their pocket.

 

[Loopy Lou]

I've had people say to me "well... so long as you do your best", which i found extremely patronising since i get very good grades. But then there's people who've just left me to get on with things.

Like Dutch Mom said, it's more down to the individual and their own situation as to how well they do.

From my point of view, epilepsy definitely makes it more difficult, but it can be worked around.

I think sometimes people have an image in their minds of how people with epilepsy are supposed to look and act and then are surprised when we're actually quite normal!

 

[Kepp500Lamic150_2xdaily]

I've found that having this disorder gives us a unique academic opportunity that we would not have otherwise. The stigma is probably not changing as quickly as it should be, but I think we have a valuable point of view that no one else could possibly have. We bring something new to the academic world no matter what.

Personally, I had to take a semester off from my undergraduate degree after my TBI and diagnosis. This certainly helped me get used to my medications and their troubling side effects, but it also gave me time to learn how to study and educate myself with my new condition and the new short term memory problems etc. My point being, everyone has good and bad study habits, but we certainly have an opportunity to break assumptions by learning how to study with this brain disorder.

 

[Nakamova]

Is the overall opinion that if someone has epilepsy then chances are lower that they'll go to or even complete college? Even if it's not true? Or perhaps it is? I'm just curious what your thoughts are...

Since epilepsy is so idiosyncratic, there's no definitive correlation between an epilepsy diagnosis and a particular level of intellectual or academic progress. With any disorder, there can be a lot of factors (co-occurring health issues, age of onset, severity of symptoms, treatment response, medications) that can affect an individual's ability to thrive in school. As folks have noted above, epilepsy may necessitate special accommodations or workarounds, but it doesn't automatically prevent someone from achieving personal, academic, or professional success.

Stigma still exists. Even the best-intentioned people hear "epilepsy" and immediately conjure up a negative stereotype. As ambassadors for epilepsy we have the opportunity to change that stereotype or destroy it altogether, and remind others to see us as individuals.