HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-17-1995 Proclamation - National Epilepsy Awareness Month AGENDA 10-17-95
Item II B 1
Proclamation
WHEREAS, people afflicted with EPILEPSY or a seizure disorder are the victims of
discrimination and prejudice; and
WHEREAS, as long ago as 400 B.C., Hippocrates repeated the popular folklore that
EPILEPSY was a visitation of the gods - a "sacred disease"; and
WHEREAS, EPILEPSY is not a disease but only an EPISODIC DISORDER; and
WHEREAS, EPILEPSY can affect anyone, at any age, at any time; and
WHEREAS, EPILEPSY and the lack of education about this disorder have contributed to age-
old superstitions and prejudice; and
WHEREAS, people with EPILEPSY, like all people, have varied abilities in many types of
work; and
WHEREAS, Workers with EPILEPSY make reliable and conscientious workers who often rate
better in job performance, attendance, safety and job stability than non-
handicapped workers; and
WHEREAS, studies show no difference in productivity between those who have EPILEPSY
and those who do not; and
WHEREAS, approximately 150,000 residents of Florida at present have EPILEPSY; and
WHEREAS, over (2) million Americans at present have EPILEPSY: 1 out of 100 persons;
and
WHEREAS, studies carried out in the United States over the past thirty years have indicated
that of all disabilities, EPILEPSY poses the greatest barrier to employment, with
unemployment rates estimated to fall between 20 percent and 25 percent; and
WHEREAS, lack of information and misinformation created more employment problems for
job applicants with EPILEPSY than the disorder itself,
NOW, THEREFORE, I, S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor of the City of Ocoee, do hereby declare
the month of November as
NATIONAL EPILEPSY AWARENESS MONTH
AND I FURTHER DECLARE, that a copy of this Proclamation shall be sent to the
Committee for Epilepsy Awareness, 10214 NW 80th Drive, Tamarac, Florida 33321.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of
Ocoee, Florida to be affixed this 3rd day of October, 1995.
S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor