Student has seizures but does not believes she is disabled....
We've had a studetn that has had three seizures in class and we have had tried to provide accomadations to her but she doesn't think she has a disability and has refused. What should we do? Would the institution be held accountable if she is injured during one of her seizures?
Thank you for your response Ms. Smoger. Do you know if there has ever been a problem with student retention because of a student with a severe seizure disability? If so, is there anything legally that the school can request from, or suggest to the student with the seizure disability?
John,
All we can do is address the obvious functional limitations and develop accommodations which would provide for equal access. We can't force a student to disclose, we can't force a student to accept accommodations-even if it is to their own detriment.
Sarah Smoger
An even more interesting twist on this situation is whether the neurological impairment causing the seizure is also linked to the denial. It sounds outlandish but neurological disorders can include such disorders as when the disorder blocks awareness of 1/2 of the visual field and the patient stubbornly denies the presence of the illness. Here we think of denial as a psychological defense mechanism such as that seen with drug addiction, when it fact is more akin to being oblivious. What to do then?
Sarah's response is excellent. The student has not made a request for accommodations. Focusing on the disruption to the learning environment, not the disability or medical condition-that would be discriminatory is the right path. Explaining the school's policy regarding medical emergencies and student's responsibility regarding the learning environment is excellent and necessary.
Jarrell,
There are a few different ways to handle such a situation. I'm sure the institution has liability insurance, and it's just these types of situations that warrant it. There have been instances in which we've had to say to a student, "our policy is to call 911 every time a student has a medical emergency because we have no one at the school who can assess if treatment is needed. If the seizures become disruptive to the learning environment, it will need to be addressed via our student code of conduct-which we would pref to not do (obviously in our student code of conduct we outline that disruptions regardless of the type, to the learning environment is a violation which could result in suspension or expulsion). It's unfair to the other students in the class. We are asking you to do your part and care for yourself so that you can focus on academic success." We work with the student as much as possible and typically, the student gets the condition under control. We focus on the disruption to the learning environment, not the disability or medical condition-that would be discriminatory.
Sarah Smoger
