Brief clinical screening for academic underachievement in new-onset childhood epilepsy: Utility and longitudinal results

- Children with epilepsy have a higher rate of academic services (47.3% vs. 17.3%).
- Academic services antedated epilepsy diagnosis in 80.8% of children with epilepsy.
- Academic performance and parent reports are associated in the long term (up to 5 years).
- A brief interview with parents identifies children with epilepsy who are at academic risk.
- Children with epilepsy without academic services perform similarly to controls.

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to determine the lifetime rate and distribution of supportive academic and educational services provided to children with new- or recent-onset epilepsy and typically developing controls, the relationship of this history to objective academic test performance, and the course of performance over serial evaluations (baseline and 2 and 5 years later).MethodsResearch participants were 91 children aged 8-18 at study entry, including 50 youth with recent-onset epilepsy (28 focal [FE] and 22 generalized [GE] epilepsy) and healthy first-degree cousin controls (n = 41). The sample with epilepsy included children with uncomplicated epilepsy and normal imaging and development. Lifetime history of a diversity of supportive educational services was determined via a structured interview with parents at the baseline study visit. Associations were examined between these support services and participants' academic performance in reading, spelling, and arithmetic (Wide Range Achievement Test-Revision 3 [WRAT3] [12]) during three serial study visits including baseline and 2 and 5 years later.ResultsChildren with epilepsy had a higher lifetime rate of provision of diverse academic supportive services compared to controls at the baseline visit (52% vs. 18%). These services antedated epilepsy diagnosis in the majority (80.8%) of the children with epilepsy. Among children with epilepsy, children who presented with academic services had significantly lower WRAT3 reading, spelling, and arithmetic performance at baseline and at 2- and 5-year follow-ups.ConclusionA brief structured clinical interview conducted with parents identifies children with epilepsy who are at academic risk at the time of diagnosis, with that risk persisting up to 5 years later.