SUMMARY The results of a study to elicit factors which are associated with an epileptic patient's gaining and keeping employment are presented. Eighty‐seven employed patients were compared with 90 unemployed patients on a wide variety of variables. It was found that the employed patients had higher intelligence, less impairment on neuro‐psychological tests, less neurological and electroencephalographic abnormalities, and their work history was considerably better than that of the unemployed group. A step‐wise discriminant function analysis revealed that the most powerful predictors for employment success were: high motivation for work, good verbal IQ, a self confidence item, and the patient's present level of socialization. A review of the type of employment held by our patients, when compared against the total labor force and the minority labor force (Negro citizens) of the Detroit Metropolitan area, showed that the epileptic patients tend to be similar to the minority labor force, clustering in the lower socio‐economic brackets. It was felt that discrimination against both groups is probably only one common denominator. Another, possibly a more important one, is inadequate schooling which results in failure to acquire the skills needed for living successfully in a highly technological, complex, competitive society. It is pointed out that although the majority of epileptic children attend regular schools, their grades tend to be below average and that they are not being prepared for entering the competitive job market. Suggestions how to improve this situation through rehabilitation efforts during the school years and how to more effectively remove the stigma from the illness are also presented.

SUMMARY An interdisciplinary research project was initiated for systematic, long‐term study of employability prognosis of persons with epilepsy. Neurological, psychological, and occupational status variables were investigated in three groups of epileptics: Employed adults, Unemployed adults, and a Prevocational Group of young persons primarily in the 11th and 12th grades. Preliminary results reported showed significant differences between Unemployed and Employed adult epileptics on a substantial number of measures that relate to employability suggesting a continuum of employability from very poor employability prognosis to very good prognosis. Based on the findings presented here, social adaptive abilities appear to be as important as seizure control, and perhaps even more important in the final outcome. In the meantime, increasing evidence does not provide support for the belief that drug therapy and changing employers' attitudes represent a sufficient attack on the employment problems of persons with epilepsy. RÉASUMÉA Un projet de recherche groupant plusieurs disciplines a eAteA mis sur pied. Elle avait pour but d'eAtudier, d'une facLon systeAmatique et sur une longue peAriode, le pronostic de l'emploi d'individus souffrant d'eApilepsie. Plusieurs variables furent exploreAes: neurologique, psychologique et occupationnelle. Trois groupes d'eApileptiques furent examineAs: (1) adultes posseAdant un emploi; (2) adultes sans emploi; (3) jeunes individus en majoriteA dans leur 11e ou 12e anneAe de scolariteA (groupe preA‐vocationnel). Les premiers reAsultats deAmontrent qu'il y existe une diffeArence significative entre le groupe des adultes sans emploi et celui des adultes ayant un emploi. De nombreuses mesures portant sur les possibiliteAs d'emploi mirent aG jour ces diffeArences et suggeAreGrent un continuum dans les possibiliteAs d'emploi qui variait d'un pronostic treGs pauvre aG treGs bon. D'apreGs les reAsultats obtenus, les capaciteAs d'adaptation sociale semblent eCtre importantes en tant que meAcanisme de controCle des crises et elles sont possiblement encore plus importantes en ce qui concerne l'issue finale. En attendant, il est de plus en plus eAvident que le traitement meAdicamenteux et le changement d'attitude des employeurs ne s'attaquent pas d'une manieGre suffisante aux probleGmes de l'emploi d'individus souffrant d'eApilepsie.

This study investigated whether oblique factor scores for Wechsler tests discriminate right-and left-hemisphere brain dysfunction more effectively than subtest or scale scores. A criterion sample of 60 psychomotor-seizure epileptics was divided into 2 equal cross-validation groups with comparable proportions of right and left Ss. 3 measures of lateralization were used, with a criterion cut-off of at least 2 measures lateralizing each S. A computer-programmed, "stepwise" regression analysis was performed utilizing a double cross-validation design. Regular scale scores proved more effective than factor scores, although the latter were nearly comparable using a different factor-extraction matrix.

SUMMARY A survey of the literature, primarily over the past 10 years, was reported for studies of lateral dysfunction related to deficits from various cognitive tests in neurological populations. Studies of temporal lobe seizure patients were also reviewed, along with previous results classifying individual patients on the basis of psychological test results. A recent study by the author was reported making use of the Wechsler scales in a broad out‐patient sample of patients with psychomotor seizures. Verbal‐nonverbal relationships to lateral dysfunction were found, similar to that previously demonstrated in other populations. It was also demonstrated that these patients could be identified with considerable accuracy by the use of regression‐weighted Wechsler scores RÉSUMÉ Revue de la littérature, principalement des dix dernières années, concernant les études des dysfonctions latérales liées à des déficits dans divers tests cognitifs chez des malades neurologiques. L'auteur passe aussi en revue les études de malades ayant des crises du lobe temporal avec des résultats antérieurs classant les patients d'après les tests psychologiques. L'auteur expose une récente étude personnelle utilisant l'échelle de Wechsler dans un large échantillonage de malades ambulatoires avec crises psychomotrices. On trouve des relations entre verbal et non verbal liées à la dysfonction latérale, semblables à celles démontrées antérieurement dans d'autres populations. II démontre également que ces malades peuvent être identifiés avec une précision considérable en utilisant les notes du Wechsler pondérées par la méthode de régression.