Hello again! I am sorry to hear your daughter is having these problems
and in her last year of school too. I think I'd take Ed's advice and
request an evaluation for special education. An IEP is much stronger
than a 504 and would allow her more accommodations, such as half day
attendance, time to make up missed work, etc. As long as she is able to
meet the high school graduation requirements, she will still be eligible
for a regular diploma.

I had a couple seizures when I was 19 years old. I was told at the time
that this is common in young adults due to the increased brain growth
that occurs during this time. It was a very scary time for me and I
couldn't drive for almost a year, requiring me to rely on my family and
friends to take me everywhere. The cause of my seizures were never
determined, but I discontinued the meds after a year and have never had a
repeat of the seizures again. I hope this will be the case with your
daughter as well and she'll grow out of them. It is a very scary
experience though and I remember being constantly worried that I could
have another seizure, fall and injure myself. I walked on the grass a
lot, avoiding as many sidewalks and roads as possible.

How is the rest of the family doing? Are you still going to school? Are
you still substitute teaching? I check in on the sub board every now and
then, but the bickering seems to never end and it is just not the quiet
and supportive board of years past. I'm starting my fourth year teaching
in the same multi-categorical, self-contained, special education
classroom for intermediate elementary grades. I have 13 students and 4
aides and I think this is my most difficult year yet. How's your son
doing? I can relate to the anxiety issues. My youngest is doing on-line
school through a local school district. His grandpa stays with us during
the week, so he's got some company, but he's pretty much doing the
schooling on his own. His older brother and I help him out when we can.
I hope you're able to work things out for your daughter so she can finish
school and go on to college. I'd probably encourage her to do a
community or local state college the first couple years, so she can have
the support of her family. Good luck! wasub

On 11/07/09, ed wrote:
> On 11/07/09, Jean wrote:
>> Thanks! Yes, wasub, I'm Jean from the sub board. We were near the
>> end of last year when my daughter passed out at her desk and was
>> subsequently diagnosed with epilepsy (quickly followed by migraine
>> headaches). Last year's teachers, admin., and staff were so
>> helpful that it was enough for my daughter to be under only "the
>> umbrella of a 504." My husband and I were told that we'd solidify
>> the 504 this year. She wasn't given an IEP, because she wasn't
>> failing all of her classes.
>>
>> My daughter missed most of the whole first quarter of classes this
>> fall. At first it was from the medicine mix-up. Because of that,
>> the migraines hit full-force again (several a day). Then we
>> discovered that - at the same time - she had sinusitis. Going back
>> on her regular meds. for the epilepsy and migraines and taking the
>> antibiotic for the sinusitis seem to have rid her (for the time
>> being) of seizures and migraines. The med she is on may not
>> completely alleviate her migraines, but it's known to be 50-75%
>> effective. The med seems to be completely controlling her seizures
>> at this point - to the point that she has been given permission to
>> start driving again now. The problem is that depression followed
>> on the heels of the meds. mix-up and the sinusitis. Because she
>> was missing so much school again, the school counselor recommended
>> that my daughter switch her two required (to graduate) classes to
>> online and come to school only for her audited electives and office
>> assistant work. The depression, though, seems to be partly due to
>> the greater difficulty of the online work and my daughter's desire
>> to take all of her classes on campus. There is still, of course,
>> the genetic predisposition to mental illness in the family, but now
>> she has just started taking meds and is in therapy.
>>
>> When my daughter began falling so far behind in her online classes,
>> I asked the school counselor if maybe we should solidify the 504.
>> She said she didn't think it'd be a good idea because she wouldn't
>> know what concessions to request. Can we ask for the school
>> attendance record to be thrown out? Can I now get an IEP for her
>> since she has fallen so far behind in her classes? This past
>> quarter, she got two F's in her online courses. Since we waited so
>> long to cancel the third course (that she required for an advanced
>> degree), she got an F in that, too (or an I, can't recall which).
>>
>> We have a meeting with the school counselor and admin. this coming
>> week and my daughter's therapists said we should invite the on-
>> campus teachers to join the meeting. Should we? Should we make
>> sure that someone from special ed. is at the meeting to act as our
>> advocate? I'm afraid they'll tell my daughter to not come back to
>> campus at all, and I know that she'll feel dashed if they do that.
>> She wants to go back to campus, so I'm hoping that - even though
>> she hasn't had many days that she has made it there because of the
>> health problems and then the depression - they'll let her try it
>> again.
>> -Jean
>
> Jean,
>
> Given your daughter's medical conditions and the status of her mental
> illness she should qualify for an IEP. I think that since she used to
> be a very good student and is now having such a hard time with her
> grades should be an indicator to them how much her health status is
> effecting her. While she clearly has a rough road ahead of her to
> catch up and graduate, she shouldn't give up on her education and
> neither should you.
> When you go to the meeting make sure that you ask for exactly what you
> want, bring any important/relevant medical information with you, and
> be prepared to discuss how you and your daughter plan to get back into
> school and caught up on her classes (summer school, an extra semester,
> tutoring,etc). You and your daughter need to come up with a plan that
> will work for her (and you), while taking her medical needs into
> consideration. I am sure that she feels overwhelmed and often feels
> very fatigued due to her depression and possibly some of her seizure
> medication. She may need to be exempt from certain attendance policies
> or have a modified class schedule until she gets into a school routine
> again.
> If the school is not cooperative, you should seek out an advocate from
> an outside agency that knows the special education laws and can assist
> you in getting the help you need.

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