Legal Rights of Children with Epilepsy in School & Child Care

Legal Rights of Children with Epilepsy in School and Child Care
nobody has remembered to give the medication to her. Joyful Children has drawn the line
at emergency antiepileptic medication, believing it to be “too hard to administer,” “too
medical in nature,” and “too time consuming,” given the other responsibilities of staff.
Consequently, Ashley’s mother always has to be on standby to rush to Joyful Children if
necessary, which defeats the purpose of having child care, or 911 will be called, an
equally unsatisfactory option. Ashley’s mother has contacted an attorney for legal
assistance in resolving this matter.
Discussion and Possible Advocacy Strategy: Joyful Children has obligations to Ashley
with respect to both her daily medication and the emergency medication. The following
strategy may be helpful to Ashley’s mother:
1) Arrange a meeting for Ashley’s mother, counsel, and the director of Joyful
Children. Make it clear that this is an effort to try to resolve the situation, and
suggest that the director include counsel if his or her presence would be helpful in
moving the parties toward resolution.
2) At the meeting, try to persuade the center to designate a staff person who will
administer Ashley’s daily medication, and to set a time each day that the
medication will be given to her. Additionally, ask the center to identify a second
staff person who can be a backup in case the designated staff person is absent or
unavailable for some reason. The staff people’s names should be documented and
a log should be kept of when the medication is administered. A sheet could be
made up for each month with Ashley’s name, the date, the name of the
medication, and a space for the staff person to initial.
3) It is important to demystify the administration of the emergency medication for
Joyful Children’s Director and staff. Come to the meeting with information about
the medication, but do not bring so much that it seems overwhelming to staff, who
may not have much time to watch training videos or read a lot of training
materials. It would be preferable for Ashley’s parents and doctor to complete in
advance an emergency treatment plan form, which could be presented to the
center. This plan can provide detailed information about the types of seizures
Ashley experiences and any triggering stimuli and warning signs. The plan can
also detail instructions about when and how emergency medication should be
administered and about when emergency medical services should be called. A
standard form is included in this Manual as Appendix A. It may be helpful to
supplement this form by also including a letter from Ashley’s doctor explaining
the purpose of the medication and its benefits. The plan and/or letter should also
describe her typical reaction to the emergency medication. For example, if Ashley
typically falls asleep and will need a place to sleep for a few hours, this should be
mentioned. Offer a brief training for the director and staff, and offer to put them
in touch with resources that may be able to connect them with other child care
providers who routinely administer the medication without incident.
34