Virginia Western Community College
  • MyVWCC
  • Student Resources & Handbook
  • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • EXPLORE
    • About VWCC
    • Visit VWCC
    • VWCC News
    • Programs & Training
    • Campus Life
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Campus Safety
    • Community Events
    • Request Info
  • ENROLL
    • Before You Apply
      • Get Started at VWCC
      • Dual Enrollment
      • Apply to VWCC
      • Programs & Training
    • After You Apply
      • Discover Orientation
      • Academic Advising
      • Credit for Prior Learning
      • Academic Calendar
    • support
  • FIND YOUR PATH
    • Programs & Training
    • Virginia Western Online
    • Career & Corporate Training
    • Dual Enrollment
    • Class Schedules
    • Academic Advising
    • College Catalog
  • PAY FOR VWCC
    • Resources
      • Tuition Rates
      • Ways to Pay
      • Financial Aid
      • Scholarship Opportunities
      • CCAP
      • Veterans Benefits
    • Buttons
  • GET SUPPORT
    • Programs & Training
    • Brown Library Services
    • Tutoring
    • Testing Center
    • VWCC Bookstore
    • Student Support Services
    • Help Desk

Register Now for Fall! Chapman Hall is open for in-person support (appointments available Mon – Thurs, walk-ins on Friday)
View the Class Schedule | Click here for Advising | Click here for Financial Aid

CASHIER’S OFFICE: Due to maintenance in Fishburn Hall, the Cashier can be found in Chapman Hall until further notice.

MENUMENU
  • MyVWCC
  • STUDENTS
        • Campus Life
          • Food on Campus
          • Student Activities & Events
          • Clubs & Organizations
          • Recreation & Fitness
          • More from Student Life
        • Learning Resources
          • Academic Calendar
          • Programs & Training
          • College Catalog
          • Dual Enrollment
          • Brown Library Services
          • Help Desk
          • VWCC Bookstore
          • VWCC Bookstore ACCESS Program
        • Student Services
          • Financial Aid
          • TRIO Pathways
          • Hall Career Center
          • Disability Services
          • College Policies
          • More Resources & Services
        • New to VWCC? START HERE!
  • ADULT LEARNERS
    • Programs & Training
    • School of Career & Corporate Training
    • Virginia Western Online
    • Credit for Prior Learning
    • Teacher Recertification
  • FACULTY & STAFF
    • Faculty & Staff Resources
    • College Directory
    • Faculty & Staff Calendar
    • VWConnect (requires VWCC login)
    • IIWS Login
    • Login to Webmail
  • EMPLOYERS
    • School of Career & Corporate Training
    • Hall Associates Career Center
  • GIVE TO VWCC
    • Give Now to Virginia Western
    • CCAP
    • Educational Foundation
GET HELP
Virginia Western Community College
  • EXPLORE
      • About VWCC
      • VWCC News
      • VWCC Response to COVID-19
      • Programs & Training
      • Campus Life
      • Institutional Effectiveness & Research
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Campus Safety
      • Community Events
    • VISIT VWCC

      SCHEDULE A CAMPUS TOUR

      REQUEST INFORMATION
  • ENROLL
    • Before You Apply
      • Get Started at VWCC
      • Dual Enrollment
      • Apply to VWCC
      • Programs & Training
    • After You Apply
      • Discover Orientation
      • Academic Advising
      • Credit for Prior Learning
      • Academic Calendar
    • 24/7 Student Support Logo
  • FIND YOUR PATH
    • Programs & Training
    • Virginia Western Online
    • Career & Corporate Training
    • High School/Home School Students
    • Class Schedules
    • Academic Advising
    • College Catalog & Handbook
  • PAY FOR VWCC
    • Resources
      • Tuition Rates
      • Ways to Pay
      • Financial Aid
      • Scholarship Opportunities
      • CCAP
      • Veterans Benefits
    • COMPLETE YOUR FAFSA

      APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
  • GET SUPPORT
    • Programs & Training
    • Brown Library Services
    • Tutoring
    • Testing Center
    • VWCC Bookstore
    • Student Support Services
    • Help Desk
APPLY TO VWCC

Accommodations for Students with Seizure Disorders

Faculty & Staff Resources > Guide to Accommodating Students with Disabilities > Accommodations for Students with Seizure Disorders

To ensure their safety, students with active seizure disorders are advised to provide the Office of Disability Services, Campus Police as first responders, and instructors with the following information:

  • Type, characteristics, and frequency of seizures
  • Name of physician, medications, and emergency contact numbers
  • Instructions regarding appropriate assistance during a seizure

Become familiar with the three most common seizure disorders: Generalized Tonic-Clonic (Grand Mal), The Absence (Petit Mal), and the Complex Partial (Psychomotor or Temporal Lobe).  Each type has different effects on different individuals.  Not all seizures are as evident as the Grand Mal.  Some are undetectable except to the trained observer.

Please observe current medical precautions for students who have active seizures to ensure their safety.  Faculty who observe a student experiencing a Tonic-Clonic (Grand Mal) seizure in their classrooms or other locations on campus should report the incident immediately to Campus Police before notifying Disability Services.  DS may assist in arranging transportation other than emergency vehicles or contacting family members.

The most common seizure disorder in adults is the Complex Partial.  During a complex partial, a student is either completely unaware of surroundings or consciousness is substantially impaired.  The student may feel fear or anger, or distortions may occur in taste, sound, or hearing.  When a seizure occurs, individuals may go through a series of motions called “automatisms” of which they have no conscious knowledge.  The automatic behavior may take many forms: smacking of the lips, chewing, fumbling with clothing or buttons, restlessness, walking, or pacing.  A period of confused consciousness may follow, lasting from a few moments to half an hour, depending on the individual. Seizure incidence and frequency vary dramatically among individuals.

Characteristics of most complex partial seizures are the following:

  • Sudden arrest of activity with staring
  • Blank, dazed facial expression; the person appears to be unaware of his environment
  • A clouding of consciousness; the person cannot accurately interpret his environment
  • Repetitive, automatic and purposeless behavior
  • Lip smacking, chewing movements with the mouth, playing with nearby objects
  • Incoherent or irrelevant speech
  • The student has no memory of his behavior or what has happened around him

Seizure disorders are perhaps the most difficult to deal with academically because of the time element lost (particularly during in-class assignments, tests, and other classroom activities) as well as the effects of the seizure on the student: disorientation, memory loss, loss of concentration, alterations in the student’s behavior, fatigue, and headaches. 

The following information and suggested accommodations will assure that the student with a seizure disorder is afforded every opportunity to succeed academically:

  • Avoid tense, anxiety-provoking interpersonal confrontations with the student as they may trigger the onset of a seizure.
  • Permit the student to tape classes and/or assist in securing a volunteer note taker to assure that s/he will have a record of lectures, assignments, class discussions, and announcements.
  • Please be patient if a student with a seizure disorder asks or repeats questions previously discussed or answered during class.
  • Allow the student additional minutes for tests and examinations in a separate location with reduced distractions.  Oral testing may be appropriate.
  • Allow students extra out-of-class time (within reason) to catch up or reorient themselves to class notes and/or assignments.

Please refer such students to the Office of Disability Services in S207 (857-7286).

  • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • Employee Directory
  • Departments Directory
  • Academic Calendar
  • College Catalog
  • Faculty Handbook
  • Faculty & Staff Forms Library
  • Webmail

VWCC Alerts

We use the VW Mass Notification System to immediately contact you during a major crisis or emergency. Get more info and register!

Programs & Training
College Directory
EOE Statement
Privacy/Disclaimer
VW MNS
Student Consumer Information
Virginia Education Wizard
eVA Transparency Reports

Career Opportunities
FOIA Rights & Responsibilities
Site Map
Help Desk
Faculty & Staff Webmail
View VWCC Expenses
Organizational Charts
Annual Notice of Non-Discrimination

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube

Virginia Western Community College
3094 Colonial Avenue
Roanoke, VA 24015
540-857-VWCC
TTY: All users 711

© 2022 Virginia Western Community College, All Rights Reserved
24/7 Student Support Center - 855-874-6690