New Pa. law named in honor of Chester County family who pushed for seizure training in schools
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The family that pushed for a new Pennsylvania law that encourages seizure training in schools was honored Friday.
The Epilepsy Foundation said more teachers need to learn how to recognize seizures in children and know what to do.
It's a mission they said that can save lives.
Nine-year-old Dominic Rosini has learned to live with epilepsy that started when he was three.
"He went from totally fine to developing six different seizure types, he was having up to a thousand seizures a day seizing every 30 seconds," mom Jessica Rosini said.
His mom said Dominic's seizures are now under control with a special diet designed for children with his rare type of epilepsy that has no known cause.
There are many different kinds of seizures and most aren't typical convulsions.
"How little I knew as a former teacher terrifies me," Jessica Rosini said.
Dominic's mom and grandmother are both teachers who pushed for a new law passed in Pennsylvania to train teachers on how to recognize and respond to epileptic seizures.
It's called the DOMinate Epilepsy Law named after Dominic.
"So with this law, people can know how to be prepared," Zoe Heller said.
Heller with the Epilepsy Foundation Eastern Pennsylvania said teachers need to know what to do if a student seizes.
"You want to make sure they're on a side and it's also important not to put anything in their mouth," Heller said.
The Epilepsy Foundation said one in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime.
"It's a lot more common than most people realize," Jessica Rosini said.
The Chester County family is now working to amend the law to mandate seizure training for school personnel.
"Just being educated and knowing how to respond could save a child's life," Jessica Rosini said.
About a third of Americans with epilepsy have seizures that can't be controlled because existing medications and treatments don't work for them.