EpilepsyUTAH

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Advocating at school!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Advocating for your Student with Special Needs

Mom, former legislator and advocate, Holly Richardson, to present.

SALT LAKE CITY, Saturday, August 10, 2013 - The Epilepsy Association of Utah and Mom Extraordinaire, Holly Richardson, are pleased to present: Advocating for your Student with Special Needs on August 17, 2013 at the American Fork Gardner Community Room.

School is just around the corner. Could you use some tips from other moms "in the trenches"? Do you sometimes wonder if your conversations about your child's needs are about as effective as talking to a brick wall? Come learn some effective advocacy techniques from an experienced mom who has been parenting special needs children for over 25 years.

“This time of year is always extremely stressful for parents of children with special needs, preparing for school, and for a parent whose child has epilepsy, it gets a little bit more intense. Most schools are simply not set up to inherently assist with a child who has seizures.” Says Annette Maughan, President of the Association, “ To help the parent navigate the system, the EAU is offering ‘Advocating for Your Student with Special Needs.”

Holly Richardson, mom to 24 children, former Representative in the Utah House and mostly retired midwife, is excited to come to talk to us about being an effective advocate for our children's need. No one knows their needs better than we do - how do we get the entire team on board? Let's talk about it!

When: August 17, 2013

10:00am – 1:00pm

Where: American Fork Gardner Community Room

64 South 100 East
American Fork, UT

A light lunch will be served.

ABOUT THE EPILEPSY ASSOCIATION OF UTAH

Founded in 1973, The Epilepsy Association of Utah is a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all individuals living with Epilepsy and seizure disorders. 1 in 26 people will develop Epilepsy at some time in their lives leading to over 100,000 people in Utah alone. Epilepsy is the 4^th most common neurological disorder in the US after migraine, stroke and Alzheimer’s. The Epilepsy Association of Utah offers a public education program, statewide support groups, personal and professional advocacy, college scholarships, art exhibits, educational conferences, summer camp and more. Visit http://epilepsyut.org for additional information.

Press Contact: Lindsey Palmer

Email: lindsey@epilepsyut.org

Website: www.epilepsyut.org

Sunday, August 4, 2013

EAU hires Holly Ferrin as New Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EAU hires Holly Ferrin as New Executive Director

Dedicated activist and long time advocate takes over during time of unparalleled growth.

SALT LAKE CITY, Sunday, August 4, 2013 - The Epilepsy Association of Utah announced today the appointment of Holly Ferrin in the role of Executive Director, replacing departing Director Jenn Whiting.

“Ms. Ferrin’s background of community work, coupled with her years of volunteer service and civic experience stood out among the candidates”, said Association President Annette Maughan. “Holly has been on our Board for a few years, and we know what a fabulous job she has done as the Director of Programs and Services. Knowing our offerings as well as she does was a huge benefit when she applied for consideration”.

Holly recently completed her University Degree in Deaf Studies. In past roles she has served as a Midvale City Youth Ambassador and was, most recently a Guest Speaker at the UVU Oppression Conference in 2012. Her expertise in Social Media will continue to be leveraged by the EAU as we embark on new media campaigns and continue to build on our community awareness programs.

Welcome Holly!

ABOUT THE EPILEPSY ASSOCIATION OF UTAH

Press Contact: Lindsey Palmer

Email: lindsey@epilepsyut.org

Website: www.epilepsyut.org

Monday, July 1, 2013

Seize: The Story - Terisa Sitton

I was a day old when I started having seizures.

I was transferred to Primary Children’s and spent about 5 days there, they took me off the medicine after I stopped having seizures and sent me home.

I remained seizure free for a long time, until I had a seizure again at almost 9 years old and in my third grade classroom! It was Tonic Clonic. The only thing I remember is waking up in a wheel chair in the school hallway heading to the office. My mom came and got me and we went to the hospital. Once there, they ran tests and made arrangement for me to go see a Neurologist. Over the next two weeks I had two more seizures so they decided to put me on medication.

For the last 7 years I have continued to have thousands of seizures ranging from auras, absence, partial complex and full complex seizures. I have been going through all the testing to see if I am eligible to have brain surgery. The fact of surgery scares me. I have talked to so many people about it like my family; they really want me to get it to help with my seizures. All the doctors I have talked to says it is a good idea. And my friends are very supportive about this idea with surgery. Also my friends are very supportive with me and my epilepsy, they have always been there for me and helped me through so much. I love them! I am very open about my epilepsy; I tell anyone that I’m with just so I can be safe in case I have a seizure.

I am constantly fighting the stigma of having epilepsy and I have made it my mission to tell people about it, to help them be more comfortable with people that have seizures. Breaking that stigma is why my family is involved with seizure training and why we are all so open to friends and anybody who wants to know more.

I may have epilepsy, but epilepsy doesn’t have ME!!!