fits

[dyli795]

my son has been diagnosed at 23 with epilepsy ,his boss feels hes a safety risk . how can he get on disability. anyone out there with same problem im so worried his desperate mum.

[hopalong]

How long has he been with his currant job?  He should ask his boss for a safer job with the company.   See if there a support group in your area and ask them for advice

[lady_p_gold]

We have an epileptic girl in our office.  The company has ensured she has a larger work area in case she has a fit at work and injures herself on things around her.  They also make sure there are people on hand who are trained to deal with it in an emergency.  I am not sure what sort of company he works for but you may find they have a duty of care to help him, as they would with any other sort of disability.  If you haven't found it already this might be of help www.epilepsy.org.uk

[dyli795]

thanks hopalong . he works in a warehouse and used to drive a fork lift truck. but cant now.dylis.

[dyli795]

thanks lady p . ive just had a look at that web site and added it to favourites. very helpful. feel a bit better knowing people out there care. . thanks a lot. dylis.

[kazza12345]

Just because he cant work at that job dosent mean he cant work at any job.  you can get disabilty working allowance if you have to take a lower paid job because of a disability (means tested)  If he has care or mobility needs then he could apply for disability living allowance.  If he is well, but just unsafe to do that job he probably wont get that.  Where abouts do you live?  If you look in your yellow pages, there will probably be a local disability information network who may help.  Or you could try accessing support through your local carers centre  (princess royal carers trust are particularly helpful in my area, especially at looking at benefits)

[Hippy]

I used to go to a loacal gym and the guy on reception (one of many) aged about 26 had a fit one day when I was there. Everyone was helpful, and there was a first aider on hand and nothing nasty happened. The lad was checked out by doctors at the hospital and diagnosed as epileptic and now has a ongoing treatment plan to help.

However, the gym boss sacked him straight away, saying that it was bad for trade and that he posed a danger for visitors. I thought this was most unjust and plainly untrue. As he had only worked there a short time theree was nothing he could do. Prejudice alive and well! I don't go there any more, but still keep in contact with the lad who is fine.

He had another small fit about three weeks after the first, but has been ok othewise. He got another job with a sports shop in the town, and he admitted the epilepsy on the application form. They made no comment about it and hired him for who he is and waht he can do.

[smudge]

So sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis dyli.

We used to have an employee who suffered from epilepsy, but he was on medication & had never had a fit in all the many years he worked with us.

Good luck to your son.

[smudge]

P.S. Whether or not he had fits out of the work place, I wouldn't know as he never mentioned it.

[skyhi9921]

i am 22 and have had epilepsy since i was 5 it could be very hard when your a young adult as u cannot drive and there are many triggers make sure he cuts down on his caffine intake and smoking as both of these are triggers although not very well known you can experience a lot of discrimination i applied to do a child care course and wasnt allowed on the course as work experience is involved and i could have a seizure and hurt someone so they recommended another course which i wasnt interested in at all to get on disability living allowance this obviously depends on the severity of his epilepsy but best thing phone the job centre or your local council and ask for forms for income support,disability living allowance ,incapacity benefits u might not get all of these but it all helps u may have to exageratte slightly on the forms oh and if he is paying rent u can try housing benefit as well these are all affected by income

good luck