[ER_in_OC,CA]

In the post to which I replied, you stated you had no problem with the dog being there. I have no position on the 'dog issue' at the moment.

From what the article said, this little girl would 3 to 5 times a week would get up unannounced, lay on a mat, and have a seizure. After which she would get up and continue in the classroom setting, assuming her post-ictal recovery is quick.

If her presence in the classroom actually proves to be disruptive, it is my understanding that the school district has the right to ask that she be removed from the class. However, the district doesn't appear to be stating this, and this can be determined on the actual merits of the situation rather than yours and my deductions. Instead, the district is disagreeing with the dog's presence, not the student.

My conclusion at this point is: Given the overwhelming benefit of the doubt extended by federal law, this child is legally entitled to be mainstreamed. It is my assumption that after the first couple of weeks of these events that her classmates would accept these seizures as a fairly routine event and learning time would only experience minor interruptions. If the disruption stays extreme, then the school district can petition to have this child removed from this class.

As for familiarity with seizures, I am aware of what are now called tonic-clonic seizures. And I am aware that the subject of this article has these seizures.

Most parents of classmates can use this as a teaching moment to talk about 'real life' with their children, acceptance of others with disabilities, and to clear up misunderstandings about seizures.

Other parents will be upset, and they have the right to send their child to a private school. As a child, I was scheduled to be bused a long way to elementary school as a result of a program here in California. My mother decided this was not in my best interest and enrolled me in a private school for that year.

[ER_in_OC,CA]

Just to clarify/correct myself, you said you didn't care about the dog in the original post to which I replied -- in this latest reply I said you wrote you "had no problem with the dog being there." These aren't one and the same, so this may not be correct, and is not my point of contention with you -- I don't have an opinion on the 'dog issue.'

[imjustme]

My first reaction when reading this article is 'how can the school do this??'
After some thought I do think she needs an IEP. She is going to need help to catch up on what happens in the classroom during her seizure and during her post-ictal state. My 17 year daughter can be 'out of it' for hours after some of her seizures.
Seizures are very scary for anyone not used to seeing them. There is a reason I don't take my daughter grocery shopping with me anymore. Our situation is very different as my daughter is in a wheelchair and is very dev. delayed and has CP. Even so one seizure in the produce department can be very upsetting to all those around.
I feel very sorry for this little girl. What happens if she has a seizure in the middle of a lesson or a test? Someone will have to catch the little girl up on what she missed.
I do think she has a right to go to school and be as normal as possible though. I don't have a problem with her bringing a dog but how is the dog going to use the bathroom and will he have a bowl of water with him during the day?
It is alot more complicated than just a little girl going to school with her service dog.