Abstracts

Children with epilepsy (CWE) often need educational services but go unidentified. Neuropsychological testing can identify CWE who are having difficulties, and the neuropsychological report (NR) can serve as an intervention and catalyst for educational services (ES). This study examined the number of ES that CWE received before and after a NR was provided to their parents. It was hypothesized that CWE would receive more ES after receiving the NR, especially for those who were underachieving (1 SD [lt] IQ). At baseline, participants were 58 CWE 8 [ndash] 15 years old (M=10.9; [italic]SD[/italic]=1.8) who were in Grade 2.7[ndash]10.2 (M=5.5; [italic]SD [/italic]= 1.9). IQ ranged 56-130 (M=95.9; [italic]SD [/italic]= 6.5); 84.5% were right-handed, and 49% were female. The children had diverse seizure types; 98% were medicated. Children were tested at baseline and at 24-month follow-up. Measures included the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Revised (WJ-R) and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT). After baseline testing, families received a NR. At 24-months, parents completed a survey of the number and duration of ES received. Data were analyzed with a 2 x 2 (Achievement x Time) Mixed Design Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Achievement (normal achievement or underachievement) was the between-subjects variable, and Time (baseline and 24-month) was the repeated measure. ES at follow-up was significantly greater than ES at baseline ([italic]F[/italic] (1, 56) = 117.61, [italic]p[/italic] [lt] 0.0001) for both groups. Additionally, there was an interaction between achievement status and services received, [italic]F[/italic] (1, 56) = 6.47, [italic]p[/italic] = 0.014; CWE who were underachieving received significantly more services than the normal achieving group at the 24-month testing compared to baseline, [italic]F[/italic](1, 56) = 6.58, [italic]p[/italic] [lt] 0.001. These results suggest that receiving a NR might enhance the focus on the child[rsquo]s needs and encourage schools to provide more ES. As most of the CWE were referred by their doctors or school nurses, it is unlikely that enrollment in the study was due to a concurrent initiation of an Individualized Educational Plan at the school. Because it is possible that some parents did not share the NR with the school, our findings might underestimate the effect of a NR on ES. Neuropsychological testing might be an important facet to ensuring the educational success of CWE, but further research must examine the causal connection as well as the magnitude of the effect of this type of intervention. (Supported by NIH/NINR R01 NR 04536-01 to J.K.A.)