Courts have long held that public school teachers are "state actors" when they carry out the duties of their job. Despite this, very few teacher preparation programs include an education law class. In order to understand teachers' legal literacy, a survey was given to 300 public school teachers in Indiana. The survey assessed knowledge…

Children with chronic health conditions need the support of school staff to flourish socially and academically in educational settings. This study explored teacher experiences and knowledge of the following common paediatric conditions: asthma, food allergies, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, heart disease and seizure disorder. Participants included…

In the last article the author discussed the powerful effect epilepsy has on the social functioning of the classroom and how this impact can affect learning difficulties in the student. Epilepsy also exerts a powerful influence upon the teacher, depending how educated that teacher is and any fears about seizures the teacher may harbor. Fortunately…

In many respects epilepsy is as much a social disorder as it is a physical one. With epilepsy's long human history, many misconceptions have grown around the disorder. Those misconceptions have taken on a life of their own. Mistaken ideas that epilepsy is some form of evil possession, that it is a form of mental illness, that people with epilepsy…

The purpose of this study was to survey special and regular educators as to their knowledge and attitudes about a newly developed drug for seizure control, Diastat. Recently the administration of this drug by school personnel has been mandated as a related service under IDEA. A total of two hundred schools were surveyed in four different areas of…

This article presents the results of a study which solicited input from parents of children with Angelman syndrome (AS) regarding the schooling and education of their children. This is a group whose views about these issues have not been widely explored. The first reports of AS in the United States were in the early 1980's. Because it is a…

The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-Second Edition (BASC-2) was administered to 108 parents and 37 teachers of children with epilepsy (mean age of 10.6 years; 51% female, 49% male). Results demonstrated high mean scores on the Atypicality, Attention Problems, Withdrawal, and Adaptive Skills scales and a high percentage of At-Risk or…

There is a striking dearth of studies focusing sensitively and in depth on the mainstream educational experiences of children with epilepsy, as viewed by those children themselves. The one-year project (2006-7) reported here addresses that gap. Children's perceptions about mainstream teachers' understanding of epilepsy and school-based needs are…

According to even the most conservative estimates, at least a quarter of deaf children have additional disabilities. Most teacher preparation programs do not sufficiently prepare teacher candidates for the challenges posed by these children. This article describes a professional development effort to prepare in-service educators of the deaf to…

The author suggests that an informed, optimistic approach can bring new confidence to the epileptic child in the classroom. Types of seizures are described, as are positive techniques and approaches which would be advantageous for the teacher to adopt. (KC)

The interview with a Toronto primary grade teacher considers her reactions to the integration of two wheelchair bound children integrated into her class. Considered are discussions to prepare the class prior to the placement, activities to fully integrate the children, and management of one child's frequent seizures. (DB)

Epilepsy is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized disorders in society. A four-hour workshop was conducted over two days with the first two hours discussing types of epilepsy, causes, treatment, and medication. The second part of the study focused on social and psychological implications of epilepsy. (JN)

Problems teachers encounter with students receiving medication for seizures and behavior disorders were determined from 1,110 teachers in two types of programs--early childhood special education and classes for the trainable mentally retarded. (Author)