Daycare Options
If your child is in day care, you will want to work with the caregivers to make sure they understand what epilepsy is and how to handle a seizure. Visit this website's Raising Awareness section for information and tools you can use.
Parents of infants and toddlers with epilepsy sometimes have a hard time finding child care while they work. Most day care centers and pre-schools are not public or run by the government. Many are private businesses, with each one setting many of its own rules and policies. Some have used this independence to deny admission to children with epilepsy or to refuse to give them emergency antiseizure medication. The Epilepsy Foundation has joined lawsuits against centers that refuse to give children emergency medication, noting that the medication requires no medical training to administer and could save a child's life.
The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to private centers. It requires child care centers to provide services for children with disabilities such as epilepsy that are comparable to the services they provide to other children. They must make reasonable changes to policies and practices so that they can serve all children, unless the modification would cause a major change to the program or undue hardship for the center.
Infants and toddlers with disabilities who are at risk of developmental delays are entitled to early intervention services such as physical or speech therapy, case management and nursing services. For information on services in your area, talk to your child's doctor for suggestions or click here for contact information for state agencies.
If you feel that your child has been denied access to child care or services, you can file a complaint with the United States Department of Justice or file a lawsuit. See the Epilepsy Foundation's "Legal Rights of Children with Epilepsy in School & Child Care: An Advocate's Manual" for information on how to proceed.
