A bit of stretch, but the Mittan article made think about the potential impact that gay people can have on their own lives and their social environs by "coming out." Whether the situation is someone with epilepsy de-sheltering him/herself or a gay person coming out, "going public" could have an effect not only on how you deal with things but also on how others deal. I think the analogy holds to the extent that there's strength in numbers and that effects can be cumulative - i.e., positive social outcomes can result from desensitization/education of the public via exposure to the stigmatized group.
Similarly, also along the person-with-epilepsy-as-ambassador theme, I thought it was good that Mittan suggested that understanding be afforded to people without epilepsy who inadvertently say something less than PC and/or unwittingly hurtful to someone w/epilepsy. Given that incidence of epilepsy is low enough that you don't bump into it everyday, ignorance of the general public is to be expected.