I-CAN v6 and Epilepsy

Preparing for your NDIS assessment

Disclaimer: This article reflects publicly available information about the I-CAN v6 framework as at September 2026. It does not constitute professional disability support, medical, or legal advice. For personalised guidance, contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110, your Support Coordinator, or a disability advocacy organisation.

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Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions in Australia, affecting approximately 250,000 people. Yet for many people with epilepsy, the I-CAN v6 assessment presents a specific preparation challenge: the functional impact of epilepsy is much larger than the seizure itself.

The two minutes of a tonic-clonic seizure are visible and documentable. The four hours of post-ictal recovery, the inability to drive, the fear of unsupervised bathing, the medication side effects that cloud cognition, the nocturnal seizures that make overnight supervision necessary — these are the functional impacts that determine what level of NDIS support is genuinely needed, and they are the impacts most often under-documented in NDIS assessments.

This guide covers how to prepare across the I-CAN v6 domains that matter most for epilepsy.

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What the Assessment Needs to Capture

The I-CAN v6 assesses functional support needs in daily life — not clinical seizure classifications. For epilepsy, this means the assessor needs to understand:

1. The seizure itself — type, frequency, duration, warning (aura or not), level of consciousness, injury risk
2. The post-ictal period — how long, what functional capacity looks like during that time, support needed
3. The interictal period — your functioning between seizures, including the constant background management of epilepsy
4. Safety considerations — what becomes unsafe without supervision or support
5. Medication impact — side effects affecting cognitive function, fatigue, mood, balance

Each of these is relevant to multiple I-CAN domains.

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Domain-by-Domain: Epilepsy

General Tasks and Demands

This is often the most directly relevant domain for epilepsy. It covers daily routine management, medication management, and safety and risk.

Daily routines: For people with epilepsy, the structure of daily life is often significantly shaped by seizure risk management. Document how epilepsy affects your ability to follow a routine reliably — including whether post-ictal periods regularly disrupt planned activities and how often this occurs.

Medication management: Epilepsy medications are often complex — multiple medications, specific timing requirements, consequences for missed doses (potentially including breakthrough seizures). Document the complexity of your medication regimen and what support is needed to manage it reliably.

Safety and risk: This is one of the most important aspects of epilepsy preparation. Describe specifically:

• What activities are unsafe without supervision (bathing, swimming, cooking over a flame, operating certain equipment)
• Whether you use seizure alert devices or monitoring technology
• Any incidents where a seizure has resulted in injury
• What would happen if you had a seizure and no one was present

Mobility

If epilepsy prevents you from driving, this has a cascade effect on mobility. Document:

• Your current driving status and why
• Your dependence on alternative transport for all community access
• Whether seizures affect walking safety (fall risk during a seizure)
• Whether post-ictal confusion affects your ability to navigate in the community

Self Care

Epilepsy creates specific self-care safety considerations:

• Bathing: Unsupervised bathing or showering is a significant risk if seizures occur without warning. Document whether you use a shower rather than a bath for safety, whether you leave the bathroom door unlocked, whether you notify someone before showering, or whether you require someone present.
• Cooking: Open flame and hot surfaces are injury risks during a seizure. Document whether and how you manage cooking safely.
• Eating: If seizures affect swallowing or consciousness, eating alone may carry risk.

Community, Social & Civic Life

Epilepsy creates multiple barriers to community participation:

• Inability to drive limits access to almost all community activities
• Stigma and unpredictability of seizures in public settings can create anxiety-driven avoidance
• Formal community roles (volunteering, employment, study) may be limited
• Financial management may be affected if cognitive side effects impair complex decision-making

Mental & Emotional Health

Depression and anxiety are significantly more prevalent in people with epilepsy than in the general population — both as direct neurological consequences and as responses to the unpredictability, stigma, and restriction that epilepsy often creates.

If you experience depression or anxiety related to epilepsy, document this explicitly as part of the Mental & Emotional Health domain — not simply as a side note on your neurological history.

Physical Health

Ongoing neurological management, medication monitoring, specialist appointments, and any associated health conditions (including the cognitive and memory impacts that are common in epilepsy) all belong in the Physical Health domain.

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The Post-Ictal Period: The Most Under-Documented Impact

If there is one area of epilepsy preparation that most participants under-document, it is the post-ictal state.

A person who has a two-minute tonic-clonic seizure and then requires four hours of supervised rest before being able to function has effectively lost the equivalent of a half-day of functional capacity — yet if the focus of the assessment is only on the seizure itself, this impact may not be captured.

What to document about your post-ictal experience:

• How long is your typical post-ictal period?
• What functional capacity do you have during it — can you care for yourself, cook, communicate?
• Do you require someone present during this period?
• Does post-ictal fatigue or cognitive impairment extend into the following day?
• Are there any safety concerns during your post-ictal period (confusion leading to unsafe behaviour, inability to recognise danger)?

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Nocturnal Seizures: The Hidden Support Need

Nocturnal seizures are a specific category that creates support needs invisible in a standard assessment.

If you have nocturnal seizures, the assessor needs to understand:

• How frequently they occur
• Whether you are aware of them (many people are not — they discover them through waking confused, finding evidence of a seizure, or through a partner's observations)
• Whether you use a seizure monitoring device and what it does
• What injury risk exists during a nocturnal seizure (falling out of bed, head or limb injury)
• What the functional impact on the following day is (post-ictal fatigue after nocturnal seizures can be severe, and can significantly affect daytime capacity)
• Whether someone needs to be present overnight or within call range for safety

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Medication Side Effects as a Functional Consideration

Anti-epileptic medications often carry significant side effects that affect daily functioning. These are legitimate functional support needs.

Common side effects with functional impact:

• Cognitive slowing and memory difficulties — affecting ability to learn, retain information, manage daily tasks
• Fatigue — compounding the energy demands of seizure management
• Balance and coordination difficulties — affecting mobility safety
• Mood changes — contributing to or exacerbating depression and anxiety

Document medication side effects specifically in terms of how they affect daily functioning — not just as a clinical list of side effects, but as "I experience [specific side effect] which means I cannot [specific functional activity]."

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Evidence That Carries Weight

Neurologist's report: Describing seizure type, frequency, severity, medication, and functional impact on daily life. Ask your neurologist specifically to describe how epilepsy affects your daily functioning — not just the clinical picture.

Seizure diary: A record of seizures over at least three to six months — type, time, duration, post-ictal period, any injuries or near-misses. This is one of the most specific and useful pieces of evidence available. Start keeping one now.

OT safety assessment: An occupational therapist can assess home safety, self-care safety (bathing, cooking), and community mobility in the context of your seizure risk. This provides the functional framing the I-CAN v6 needs.

Carer observations: If someone lives with you or regularly observes your seizures and post-ictal periods, their written observations are valuable evidence — particularly for nocturnal seizures that you may not be aware of yourself.

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ICANReady guides you through all 12 I-CAN domains with prompts that help you describe the full functional impact of epilepsy — including the post-ictal period, medication side effects, and safety considerations that are most often missed.

Try ICANReady free →

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Sources: Centre for Disability Studies I-CAN v6 framework, Epilepsy Australia (epilepsy.org.au), NDIA support needs assessment guidance (ndis.gov.au), Disability Advocacy Network Australia (dana.org.au)