Epilepsy as a Disability Issue
Some people with epilepsy do not consider themselves to be persons with a disability. It can apply when a person has frequent seizures which affect mobility, co-ordination, or ability to perceive risk of physical danger, but it is difficult to apply to those with seizure control and no treatment-related side effects.
Some literature describes epilepsy as an invisible disability. It is difficult to detect a person living with a seizure disorder without having been told first or having witnessed a seizure. However, regardless of how well their seizures are controlled, many people with epilepsy or a seizure disorder encounter the same attitudinal and environmental barriers felt by people with other disabilities. Moreover, some people have seizure disorders due to a brain injury and such an injury may produce other challenges, such as a physical disability, a cognitive deficit, or a learning disability.
As with most disabilities, epilepsy can be depicted in a negative or positive manner through the words you use and the images you present.
Epilepsy can be considered a disability because people with epilepsy face barriers similar to those faced by people with other disabilities :
- in getting an education,
- in finding employment,
- in finding housing, and
- in gaining respect from others
due to stigma and prevailing myths about this condition.
As with other disabilities, efforts are being made today to increase public knowledge and awareness of the abilities and needs of persons with epilepsy, in order to break down barriers which exist due to lack of understanding and unacceptable outmoded attitudes.
In Ontario, all persons with epilepsy are protected by law from all types of discrimination, under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
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