Epilepsy Awareness Blog

Posted on by healthyntu8

Today is Epilepsy Action Purple Day. Two of our students have shared their experiences with living with epilepsy at university to help raise awareness around epilepsy and the support available.

By Holly Holman, a year 3 Childhood Psychology BA (Hons) NTU Student

About me

My name is Holly, I am a student in my 3rd year of Childhood Psychology graduate course and I have epilepsy. My epilepsy is incredibly complex, and I experience 3 different types of seizures that can be caused by hormones and stress. Stress is one of my main triggers and the pressures that come with deadlines can often become very overwhelming for me. Unfortunately, I also ended up missing a lot of my lectures or seminars due to the number of seizures I experienced which bears extra workload as I then have to catch up on what I have missed alongside writing up essays. In 2021 (the 1st year of my studies here at NTU) I had a VNS implant fitted in hopes to decrease seizure activity but the stress that comes with my final year and undertaking a dissertation has made this implant ineffective and so I reached out for external support also from my neurologist.

Support

Luckily before I started university life I was able to contact the Disability Assessment Service team who could help me with extra provisions to make student life with epilepsy a little easier. Before I started university I accessed the Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA) and received financial help towards the cost of a laptop with software on it that can help me to remember things as epilepsy can erase my memory. Other help included extra printing credit to make it easier for me to learn and affordable to print out sessions that I may have missed and read them at home to catch up. NTU runs a safe taxi scheme which is a brilliant way I can get home safely and the Security team across NTU are so friendly. On the back of my NTU card I had all the numbers I needed to contact security should I feel a seizure start to come on and so it was paramount I carried this with me everywhere I went, especially when visiting different campuses.

Another type of support was an access statement which provides support specifically accommodated to your own needs. You can use this access statement as evidence when applying for a Notice of Extenuating Circumstances (NEC) should you need to extend your deadlines or make alterations for examinations for medical or long term-health reasons. I found there were times when I needed to use the Panopto function (recordings) in the learning room for various lectures I had missed and so I contacted many of my module leads to ensure that all lectures, seminars and workshops were recorded.

Top Tips!

  • My biggest tips for anyone suffering from epilepsy whilst studying is to know where your support is. Carrying your card at all times really helps if you have a warning (focal seizure) before a potential tonic-clonic or drop seizure. I would advise that if you are in a building such as the library, let the staff there know that you may have a seizure due to your epilepsy and what they can do to help in the case of it occurring. Check in with your Personal and Academic Tutors (PAT tutors) and Module Tutors, they can really help you get the best help possible!
  • If you take medication, make sure someone you know can help you access it and if needed, can help you take it.
  • Know your triggers! If like me, your biggest trigger is stress – break down your workload and try not to take on too much extra workload.
  • Take time out for yourself! Do something you enjoy that you can do safely even if it’s just 10 minutes of sitting and deep breathing.
  • Give yourself manageable, bite-size tasks that mean you aren’t up all-night writing thousands of words and getting next to no sleep.
  • Know where your Safe Space is on every campus and familiarise yourself with them!
  • Use the Security Emergency number on the back of your card if you can and put this number in your mobile phone so that if you lose your card, you are still safe.
  • Finally – Ask for help! If you need to update your support due to increase in seizures, contact the Disability and Inclusion Services team and they can give you extra support! The well-being team are also incredibly amazing if you start to feel that your epilepsy or disability is affecting your mental health and well-being. These can be accessed via Microsoft teams if you aren’t able to leave the house safely.

Thank you! Stay safe!

Useful Links:

Email: disability.support@ntu.ac.uk  or call 0115 848 2085 to speak to one of the team.

For help, advice and resources whilst studying at NTU, take a look at the following for sources of support.

Epilepsy Information & Advice
Support from NTU
Self-Care books in NTU’s libraries
Silvercloud: SilverCloud is our online system designed to help with a range of mental health issues.
Health and Wellbeing resources
NTSU Information and Advice service
Wellness in Mind: Advice and support for anyone in Nottingham experiencing issues with their mental wellbeing
Student Minds or Student Space
10 Keys to happiness
Mind
Papyrus
CALM

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