By Matthew Jefferson
Round Table reporter

A recent controversy regarding an epileptic student in Virginia and his use of a service dog is an issue that feels somewhat personal to Claire Menke, a Middletown High School sophomore who also uses a service dog.

According to an MSNBC report, 12-year-old Andrew Stevens, who suffers from 20 seizures a day, will now be able to take  to school with him a well-trained guide dog, Alaya, that detects and responds to his seizures.

Recently, Fort Belvoir Elementary School, located in Fairfax, Va., allowed Alaya to be in school with Andrew. Initially, school officials did not think it would be a good idea to bring a service dog into the building because of concerns regarding children with allergies and the dog acting inappropriately in a school setting.

However, Nancy Stevens, Andrew’s mother, said in a recent interview with The TODAY Show that Alaya is trained very well. He was trained from a nationally recognized non-profit organization, Assistance Dogs International (ADI).

“My service dog helps me be more independent,” said  Menke. “If I drop something, Xavier could pick it up for me. In this case, if Andrew has a seizure, it’s hard to interrupt an episode.”

Menke also said that if Andrew had Alaya in school, then “he could have more independence. He wouldn’t have to worry about having an episode in school and no one realizing what was going on.”

Menke said that Alaya would be able to alert someone in the classroom that Andrew was having a seizure.

”The school said they would allow the dog if one of his parents would accompany him,” said Daean Menke, Claire’s mother.

“Guide dogs are on a routine schedule that will always be repeated every single day,” said Daean Menke.

Claire Menke said that Xavier doesn’t attend school with her on days where students have early dismissals.

“Guide dogs are free, but you have to pay to go and get all the essential needs,” she said.

“He gets his exercise just like any other dog,”  Menke said. “Xavier runs around outside when the weather is nice.”

She also said that Xavier gets overexcited and “when certain family members come around and he gets very happy and jumps around just like any other dog.”