Social communication in children with epilepsy.
BACKGROUND
This study examined measures of social communication that involve the use of language in formulating and organizing thoughts and its relationship with seizure-related, developmental, cognitive, and behavioral variables in 92 children with complex partial seizure disorder (CPS), 51 with primary generalized epilepsy (PGE), and 117 normal children, aged 5.1-16.9 years.


METHODS
Coding the children's speech samples with the Kiddie Formal Thought Disorder Rating Scale (Caplan et al., 1989) and Halliday and Hasan's (1976) analysis of cohesion demonstrated social communication deficits in both seizure disorder groups.


RESULTS
The CPS patients had both formal thought disorder and cohesion deficits and the PGE group had mild cohesion deficits. IQ, as well as fronto-temporal and bilateral spike and wave activity were associated with the severity of the social communication deficits of the CPS group. The social communication deficits of the PGE group, however, were related to IQ and seizure control.


CONCLUSIONS
Recurrent CPS and PGE and fronto-temporal localization of epileptic activity might impair the development of children's communication skills.
Caplan
Rochelle
R
UCLA, USA. rcaplan@ucla.edu
Guthrie
Donald
D
Komo
Scott
S
Siddarth
Prabha
P
Chayasirisobhon
Sirichai
S
Kornblum
Harley
H
Sankar
Ramen
R
Hansen
Rebecca
R
Mitchell
Wendy
W
Shields
W Donald
WD
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D017029:Epilepsy, Complex Partial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012919:Social Behavior; D013850:Thinking