College can be fun; however, it can be super challenging when you are taking classes with epilepsy. During my first years of college, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. When I went away to Pittsburgh to attend another college, I had to adjust to a whole new way of learning. How do you thrive when your brain is wired at a new speed? Below are some helpful tips to keep your scholastic year from being a bust:
For First Time College Students and those newly diagnosed with epilepsy: (Aside from the usual speech of "be sure to take your medications with you")
- Make sure you connect to the disability services office as soon as possible. Whether you need a quiet room to take tests, a notetaker, or a classroom with less LED lighting, it is important to have your neurologist or epileptologist send in your paperwork to the disability services. If not, you will have to undergo the university's version of finding services (which can be quite daunting. I found out the hard way how difficult it is to get accomodations.)
- Talk to your roommates about your epilepsy, if you are comfortable about it. Make sure they know what to do in case you have a seizure, ie not panic or try to stick a pencil or other object in your mouth. (the myths still abound to this day)
- Pack yourself an "emergency kit" of things to help when you feel a trigger coming on and afterwards (sleep mask, noise cancelling headphones, blankets, microwavable heating pads, cold packs, comfy socks)
- Professors may not always be willing to accommodate with your disability. (I encountered this in college). Be sure to connect to your disability resource programs to work around it.
- Find the nearest support group. Finding others who "get it" is a good way to build trust and make the experience better.
- If you find yourself unable to handle college with your epilepsy, it is okay to step back and take a break. You can look at other options for online courses if the whole experience is too much. ( And yes, it can be an adjustment when you have epilepsy and college with roommates who aren't always courteous)
- If you find yourself being bullied, be sure to reach out to someone- a counselor, a friend, a mentor, a parent. No one deserves to go through college feeling embarrassed because of their disability.
- Don't forget to ask for help if you strugggle with classes or need to find a tutor. The worst thing you can do is pretend to comprehend. ( I missed out on a whole week's worth of lectures for a political science course. Thankfully I had a good notetaker to write down what I missed)
Do you have any other suggestions for those with epilepsy attending college? Please feel free to share below!
Have a good school year and wishing you a seizure free academic year!
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