I’ve been communicating with a ‘friend’, someone I’ve become close to via the web. Like so many of us, she and I connected because of Epilepsy. She reads Brainthunders and is someone who is adamant about keeping up with the latest research and information on Epilepsy. She has a daughter, college-aged, and she is tremendously concerned. For the sake of confidentiality, we’ll call her daughter ‘Lila’.

Lila has lived with Epilepsy for only about 7 years. I say ‘only’ because she wasn’t born with it, and like me…she hasn’t been as cognitively affected as many of those kids who were born with the condition and are living with daily seizures. She has seizures each day, about 5-10. She has also had surgery, so as her Mom put it…some of her learning skills have been snipped. Her math and science skills are lagging and in her Mom’s own words, “our experience has been that teachers do not recognize that she is having a seizure unless they are interacting with her when it starts. Sometimes she has hand or mouth motions that are indicators, but not always.” Lila wants to continue her education…specifically, she wants to go away to college. My friend’s question -  how can Lila plan to attend college, and is there a college program out there that caters to those who live with Epilepsy?

After Lila’s Mom and I talked, I did a lot of research for myself. It’s true, there are programs for students with ADHD and ADD, but those of us who live with Epilepsy and are affected cognitively, have memory issues or attention issues…what are our options? If we are looking for smaller class sizes and a good teacher-student ratio, where do we go? The Epilepsy Foundation has some information on how those with Epilepsy should not be discriminated against, but there is no information on where to look for a program.

So, this is an open question for all of you with college-aged kids, or kids who are approaching college-age. What are your options? Have you consulted with your neurologist(s) regarding this question? Do you know of any universities or small private colleges with programs? I know your answers might help Lila and also other teens who want to take this path.