School Accommodations for Narcolepsy

School Accommodations for Narcolepsy

It takes strength to pursue an education despite the challenges that come with narcolepsy. Managing symptoms, medications, side effects, and other complications can seriously impact one’s academic career.

Making adjustments for narcolepsy means you’re being smart and strategic; working with your narcolepsy to live your most successful life.

I definitely couldn’t have done as well in school without accommodations.”

– Danielle

Key Tips

• Know what accommodations you want before starting the process with your school. 
• Think about what you would need on your worst days.
• “It’s okay to be delayed, just not denied.” Sometimes a break and extended timeline for finishing school is the healthiest way forward.
• Address concerns before problems arise.
• Put everything in writing when interacting with your school district.

Does Narcolepsy Qualify as a Disability?

Determining who qualifies as a student with a disability is an individualized evaluation made on a case-by-case basis.

A narcolepsy diagnosis does not, by itself, qualify any individual as “disabled” under the law. This evaluation is always an individualized process that considers the student’s unique circumstance.

Accommodations Process

How does the accommodations process begin? At the elementary and secondary school level, the process to determine if a child qualifies as disabled begins with an evaluation conducted by the school’s Section 504 committee. Anyone can refer a child for consideration for evaluation, including a doctor, parent, teacher, or school nurse.

There are three main factors to discuss with school personnel in any accommodations discussion:

• Basic narcolepsy facts
• How narcolepsy affects the student 
• Accommodation suggestions

I don’t think we can expect a school to know what the right accommodations are, in part because narcolepsy is relatively rare, but also because everyone’s different.”

– Julie

School Accommodations for Narcolepsy Ideas

These are just a few types of accommodations that may be helpful for a student with narcolepsy. What works best may be a creative combination of some of these ideas.

• Test timing coordinated with wakefulness
• Limited hours of testing per day
• Note-taking support or “smart pen”
• Seating assignment and ability to stand
• Class scheduling and priority registration
• Extended time for homework and final papers
• Excused absences
• A place and time to nap

Even if you only need them once or twice throughout the year, it’s best to have accommodations as a safety net.”

– Danielle

For more information on this topic, download the Navigating School with Narcolepsy toolkit!

Navigating School with Narcolepsy: Listen or Watch!

Project Sleep President and CEO, Julie Flygare, hosted the “Navigating School with Narcolepsy” broadcast with featured panelists Kenya Gradnigo and Danielle Brooks to discuss how schools and families can work together to ensure opportunities for success.

Navigating School with Narcolepsy originally aired on July 28, 2021.

Meet Our Guests:

Kenya Gradnigo of Opelousas, Louisiana, was diagnosed with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy when she was eight years old. In 2015, she received Project Sleep’s Jack and Julie Narcolepsy Scholarship as she began her undergraduate degree at Northwestern State University. Currently, Kenya is pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at Louisiana College.

Danielle Brooks of Dacula, Georgia, was diagnosed with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy during her freshman year of high school. She was awarded a Jack and Julie Narcolepsy Scholarship from Project Sleep as she started her undergrad degree at the University of Georgia in 2015. Danielle recently graduated from Georgia State University with a Master of Science in communication sciences and disorders, and is now working as a school speech language pathologist.