Is epilepsy a disability?

[Skott]

A recent flyer to provide some small financial assistance for the local Junior College to those with disabilities listed "seizures" as one of the disabilities that qualified. I've been diagnosed with epilepsy for the past 17 years, suffering from both grand mal and partial complex seizures. I never thought of myself as "disabled" as such. Is it a disability?

I used to work as a software engineer, and was having 1-2 partial siezure a week, and when I got laid off, I found that they went away completely. My grand mal seizures are controlled by dilantin completly, as long as I take it methodically. If I perform manual labor for more than a few hours, I get uncontrollable shakes, that my neurologist says are "normal". I don't know if different states have different defintions of "disabled", but I do live in California. Is there a different definition for state, federal, and just plain medical?

[AskNott]

As you said, there are several definitions. Most of them depend on the question, "Can you work?" In some cases, a tighter definition decides things like eligibilty for driver's licenses and permits to carry firearms. If you are vision-impaired, or if you have epilepsy that's not under control, you may be able to work, but you can't get a driver's license. If a person is seriously deranged, he may be able to hold a job, but he can't get a gun permit.

If you want to know about how the local JC handles it, ask them. If your partial complex siezures were the reason for your layoff, that could shift the balance. The standards are all over the chart, so you'll just have to find out for yourself.

[TwistyLamp]

Depends on what you mean by disabled. Culturally? Legally? Legally disabled is kind of a strange definition as the legal definition of disabilty essentially means that you can't work at all.
I would say that some forms of epilespy would fall under the aegis of the services an office of disabilty services would provide. Some forms of epilespy cause learning disabilites, nereological deficts (ala ADD or Asperger's Syndrome)

[Chronos]

I don't know about other contexts, but in the Veteran's Administration, there exists a notion of partial disability. A vet might, for instance, be considered to be 40% disabled as a result of events during his service; in this case, the VA would pay that person 40% of what they would pay to a completely disabled vet. Or at least, so says my Vietnam-vet father.

[Gfactor]

Is there a different definition for state, federal, and just plain medical?

Yes. As others have indicated, it depends on what the definition's purpose is:

Originally Posted by Americans with Disabilities Act

An individual is considered to have a "disability" if s/he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. Persons discriminated against because they have a known association or relationship with an individual with a disability also are protected.

The first part of the definition makes clear that the ADA applies to persons who have impairments and that these must substantially limit major life activities such as seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself, and working. An individual with epilepsy, paralysis, HIV infection, AIDS, a substantial hearing or visual impairment, mental retardation, or a specific learning disability is covered, but an individual with a minor, nonchronic condition of short duration, such as a sprain, broken limb, or the flu, generally would not be covered.

The second part of the definition protecting individuals with a record of a disability would cover, for example, a person who has recovered from cancer or mental illness.

The third part of the definition protects individuals who are regarded as having a substantially limiting impairment, even though they may not have such an impairment. For example, this provision would protect a qualified individual with a severe facial disfigurement from being denied employment because an employer feared the "negative reactions" of customers or co-workers.

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/q%26aeng02.htm

Originally Posted by Social Security

Disability under Social Security is based on your inability to work. We consider you disabled under Social Security rules if you cannot do work that you did before and we decide that you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition(s). Your disability must also last or be expected to last for at least one year or to result in death.

This is a strict definition of disability. Social Security program rules assume that working families have access to other resources to provide support during periods of short-term disabilities, including workers' compensation, insurance, savings and investments.

To decide whether you are disabled, we use a step-by-step process involving five questions.

They are:

1. Are you working?

If you are working in 2006 and your earnings average more than $860 a month, you generally cannot be considered disabled. If you are not working, we go to Step 2.
2. Is your condition "severe"?

Your condition must interfere with basic work-related activities for your claim to be considered. If it does not, we will find that you are not disabled. If your condition does interfere with basic work-related activities, we go to Step 3.

3. Is your condition found in the list of disabling conditions?

For each of the major body systems, we maintain a list of medical conditions that are so severe they automatically mean that you are disabled. If your condition is not on the list, we have to decide if it is of equal severity to a medical condition that is on the list. If it is, we will find that you are disabled. If it is not, we then go to Step 4.
4. Can you do the work you did previously?

If your condition is severe but not at the same or equal level of severity as a medical condition on the list, then we must determine if it interferes with your ability to do the work you did previously. If it does not, your claim will be denied. If it does, we proceed to Step 5.
5. Can you do any other type of work?

If you cannot do the work you did in the past, we see if you are able to adjust to other work. We consider your medical conditions and your age, education, past work experience and any transferable skills you may have. If you cannot adjust to other work, your claim will be approved. If you can adjust to other work, your claim will be denied.

http://www.ssa.gov/dibplan/dqualify4.htm

Most states use standards similar or identical to the federal ones, but there are variations. For instance, the California Supreme Court held that for the purposes of disability discrimination, a person is disabled if they have some limitation on major life activities, instead of a substantial limitation.

Here's a handy list of some of the laws applicable to disabled individuals in California.

[Gfactor]

Here is some information on epilepsy as a disability:

http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/d...-06-di-01.html

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/an...disability.cfm

http://www.epilepsynse.org.uk/pages/...flets/work.cfm

http://www.seniormag.com/legal/epilepsy.htm

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/ada.html

[Canadjun]

Originally Posted by Social Security

...
1. Are you working?

If you are working in 2006 and your earnings average more than $860 a month, you generally cannot be considered disabled.
...

Fascinating! According to them I'm paraplegic but not disabled (not that it matters, given my location).