Epilepsy and my career
There have been occasions when children's parents have misunderstood why my eyes flutter. My current head teacher has been very supportive of me during these occasions. When my Epilepsy medication was changed my head teacher was very understanding and when I was able to return to work, I always had another member of staff with me throughout the day (as an additional safety precaution) until we both felt that I was OK and that the medication was controlling my Epilepsy.

I feel a valued member of the teaching staff. In my role as IT coordinator I am very aware of how children and adults can affected by flickering of monitor screens and from some software. Working with computers has on occasion caused me to have an aura of flashing coloured lights in the right side of my field of vision. The majority of the time I am fine with computers but if I am over tired, run down or stressed, then I know that it is not a good idea to sit in front of a screen for long periods of time. Nobody has ever said that because I have Epilepsy I should not work with computers or have responsibility for the computers in my school. This year I was given a promotion at work for my role as IT coordinator.

I cannot say if my Epilepsy held me back in my career but I know that I had to wait a lot longer than my colleagues before I was offered the opportunity to apply for a promotion. I was recommended by my previous head teacher that I really should look for another teaching post. As she was retiring, her reference would only be valid for a couple of years and that with my Epilepsy I might find it difficult to get another position because some head teachers might be put off employing me. She also went on to say that as I was responsible for both RE and IT, each subject was worth a promotion in themselves. As my head teacher she never offered me an opportunity to apply for a promotion. I don't know if my Epilepsy was a factor or not but I know that I got my promotion for my ability to teach and coordinate IT.