The Epilepsy Foundation of Metropolitan New York is proud to partner with The Anita Kaufmann Foundation to present this innovative program to fifth graders city wide. To book a free presentation call 212 677-8550 and ask for the Fifth Grade Education Coordinator.

Our program educates fifth graders to recognize, treat and understand seizures and epilepsy. Additionally, the program promotes tolerance and engenders positive attitudes towards people with epilepsy.

Fifth graders who participated in the program had an average 12 point increase in knowledge compared to non-participants, who had an increase of 2 points. The Anita Kaufmann Foundation is the exclusive United States licensee and distributor of this curriculum unit developed by the Epilepsy Support Centre of London, Ontario, Canada.

The program addresses epilepsy-related issues experienced by grade school children by educating them that stigma begins when individuals are labeled and categorized, and these actions lead to rejection and discrimination. The way to combat this is by bringing knowledge about the issue, which leads to changed attitudes. It was determined that the best place to start was with fifth graders, influencing them while they are still open-minded.

The program consists of a 30-minute scripted educational program that is aligned with educational curriculum objectives. The program uses posters, photographs, a television commercial and role playing to get its message across. Follow-up studies show that knowledge and attitude were positively affected by participating in the program.

The Anita Kaufmann Foundation, in partnership with the Epilepsy Foundation of New York, has begun implementing the fifth grade program in New York. Our plan calls for reaching about 8,000 fifth grade students this year.

Our ultimate goal is to reach every fifth grader in the United States annually.