Boy with epilepsy can bring service dog to school

Jan. 5, 2011
Fairfax County (Va.) district agrees to two-week trial

From The Washington Post: Fairfax County (Va.) school officials and the family of an epileptic 12-year-old boy have worked out an agreement that will allow him to attend Fort Belvoir Elementary School with his service dog on a two-week trial basis. Andrew Stevens will have Alaya, a 5-year-old German shep herd who is trained to detect and respond to seizures that the boy experiences as a symptom of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. The dog carries a magnet in her collar that she can swipe over a surgically implanted vagal nerve stimulator in Andrew's chest. The device sends electric signals to the brain that can ease or stop the seizures. The school system agreed to allow the dog in school on the condition that Andrew's father, Army Sgt. Angelo Stevens, accompany the boy.

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