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Posted 3/31/2007 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
eyes  hey everyone,

I am currently in the process of getting a summer job. I have applied to work at a camp and on the application and the reference forms it asks if there is any reason why you you would be unable to perform the tasks that the job requries. I say no beacuse right now my grand mal's since the fall. I am still haveing little seizures, but most of the time when I have them no one else knows that I am having one. So where I am getting at is does anyone else sometimes find it hard to get references beacuse of having epilepsy? I know that I do not have to tell them that I have epilepsy before I get the job and I will tell them if I get the job.

Also how do people react to you having epilepsy? For me people get scared when I tell them. Then they want to know about it. I have no problem telling my friends about epilepsy but I would like to find out a less aquward way of telling them about it and what to do just in case.

Posted 4/1/2007 9:07 AM (GMT 0)

Hi there TurtleGirl,

I had issues telling poeple about my epilepsy to start with but as time went on, it got easier for me. Most people that I told about my epilepsy reacted in the best way I could imagine. They were kind and supportive and didn't take the mickey. However, there will always be small minded people out there that take the mickey (Im trying to mind my language here!) and will 'bully' people that they see as different. I developed epilepsy when I was at senior school and one of the kids I told spent the next 18 months bullying me over it. He used to fake having seizures and come up with all sorts of words (That I cant mention on this forum). It made my time at school unbearable and I was much better of once I got into an environment with more mature people. But again, the vast majority of people were absolutely fine.

As for your job, if you plan on telling them after you get the job though, would'nt it be best to tell them on the application? If they are going to withhold the job based on your epilepsy, then they may take the job away when you tell them so maybe its best to be up front to start with. If you do get the job and you haven't told them, its really important that you do because it affects their insurance. I dont know what the job entails but if your epilepsy doesn't affect it then I dont see any reason why they would withhold it from you. I would be very disappointed if they did.

I hope this helps and that everything works out for you.   

Darren

Posted 4/1/2007 6:58 PM (GMT 0)
nono  Hi turtlegirl;

I don't know if this will help but here goes anyway:

Re that employment issue, It is against the law in North America for an employer not to hire a potential applicant because of a known seizure condition. It is a form of disrimination and violates the "Canadian Human Rights Act" (I'm Canadian but the same laws apply down there)

By law the employer must provide adequate working conditions or supply special needs as/if required to effectively do the job, even if that means restructuring the work area.

However, if a case like that ever went to court, it would be awfully hard for anybody to prove that they were denied a job for THAT reason, therefore cases like that usually go unreported.

Also ~ I've noticed that just the word "epilepsy" scares some ppl (especially from the "old school") and carries a stigma.

I found it very frustrating at times but I just joked about it and that seemed to put everyone at eez.

It does seem to get a little easier with time.

That is my perspective after 28 years experience.

Randy

Posted 4/3/2007 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
I do not have a hard time telling people that I have Epilepsy if it comes up but I do have a hard time bringing up the subject. I am in school I do not think that all of my profesors(I am in college right now) know. But the job that I applied for involves working with teens in a camp setting. I would probbley not be left alone a lot or anyone with the teens for a long amount of time.

I have only had Epilepsy for a little more then a year but my meds are pretty much figured out. I still have small seizures but they usually no one knows that I have them. I have not had a grand mal seizure since about the end of October. I hope that it gets easier with time like you say Randy. I am not having a terrible time with it now. But I do wish that it would all go away. It does help me a lot to know that God is in control:)

Are there anyways that you have found helpful when telling people about Epilepsy besides jokeing around with it and answering questions about it? I really am still figuring out how to tell people that do not already know. People that do know now are people that have been there for me from the start. Which is nice to have them most of the time. So I guess it is hard for me to tell people that do not know already, also people that did not know me before I had my first seizure. Most of the time people treat me normal but there are exceptions. Which I know there will always be. Maybe I am having a harder time figuring all of this stuff out then I thought.

turtlegirl
Posted 4/3/2007 10:39 AM (GMT 0)
I think for me, telling people about my epilepsy that didnt know was simply a case of deciding who I wanted to tell and then telling them. I would get them on their own (Say after a class when everyone had gone, or in their office) and say something like: "I just thought you should know that I was diagnosed with epilepsy last year..." and let the conversation flow from there. I was always anxious of talking to people outside my confort zone anyway so I found by tackling head on, I killed 2 birds with 1 stone

Posted 4/3/2007 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Turtle Girl

I'm currently unemployed but looking for administration/reception work. Whenever I go for a job, if I have an interview I try not to tell them about my epilepsy at the interview unless something comes up.

I do prefer part time work because I do get tired & sometimes if I overdo things I take very mild seizures.
Sometimes in interviews I get asked why I want part time work & i say because of medical reasons & sometimes the interviewer wants to knwo what my medical issues are. When I say epilepsy I explain to them that I have very mild epilepsy, I very really take 'turns' because my epilepsy is undercontrol by medication but if I did take a 'turn' people may not always notice.

When I get a job then I tell the employer about my epilepsy & again explain that they have nothing to worry about. I feel it's better to tell them & don't like hiding it because I felt if I hadn't told the employer & all of a suddne talk a seizure or turn they would wonder what was goign on. The employer is usualy understanding about this.
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