Educational Impact of Epilepsy in Children

Abstract

Introduction: Epilepsy can interfere with a child's cognitive development and may result in academic difficulty. Our objective is to identify and estimate the link between epilepsy and academic difficulties. 
 Methods: This is a prospective descriptive and analytical case-control study carried out at the Antsakaviro Laboratory of Neurosciences and Mental Health for the cases and in the four Public Primary Schools of the rural commune of Anjepy for the controls from 1st October 2014 to 31st January 2015. The frequency of school difficulties in epileptic and non-epileptic children, the relationship between epilepsy and school difficulties were evaluated. 
 Results: The frequency of school difficulty in children with epilepsy was 49.13% compared to 25% in non-epileptic children with an Odds Ratio of 2.90 with 95% specificity and a confidence interval of 1.87 to 4.43. Among the cases, 52.94% of the children had their first seizure before the age of 2 years with a predominance of generalized tonic-clonic seizures at 57.65%, the majority of which were of the idiopathic type (67.06%). The majority of children with epilepsy had a lack of concentration in 43.53% of cases and memory impairment in 31.76%, while memory impairment (38%), lack of concentration in 20% and repetition in 20% of non-epileptic children. 
 Conclusion: Epilepsy is a serious illness for the child that can lead to a learning disability. 
 Therefore, prevention of seizures and early detection are essential.