York University Faculty of Education course director Monica Diaz-Greco saw Purple Day as an opportunity to advocate for her daughter on a large scale and help spread epilepsy education to classrooms across the city.
One in 100 people across Canada have epilepsy, and many more are affected by its impact on their loved ones and people close to them.
This means that thousands of students across Toronto are directly impacted by epilepsy, and Monica Diaz-Greco’s daughter, 8-year-old Emma, is one of those students.
In 2014, Emma was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy and has been struggling with the condition ever since. Emma and her family have had to overcome many obstacles associated with her epilepsy and found support from Epilepsy Toronto’s Children and Youth Services Department’s counselling and programs.
However, similar to many parents who have a child with epilepsy, Monica and her husband Daniel had concerns about Emma’s experience at school.
“We know that many children within the school system have similar challenges as our daughter and share our same concerns as parents,” said Monica, in an Epilepsy Toronto news release. “Many of these challenges stem from the stigma associated with this condition and a lack of awareness and understanding about epilepsy.”
A teacher and member of Epilepsy Toronto, Monica collaborated with the local organization to develop educational materials for TCDSB teachers to use in their classrooms for this year’s Purple Day on March 26.
Read the full article published March 18, 2022 in The Toronto Star.