title: Functional difficulties and school limitations of children with epilepsy: findings from the 2009-2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epilepsy is a common serious neurologic disorder in children. However, most studies of children's functional difficulties and school limitations have used samples from tertiary care or other clinical settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare functional difficulties and school limitations of a national sample of US children with special health care needs (CSHCN) with and without epilepsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the 2009-2010 National Survey of CSHCN for 31,897 children aged 6-17 years with and without epilepsy were analyzed for CSHCN in two groups: 1) CSHCN with selected comorbid conditions (intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, or traumatic brain injury) and 2) CSHCN without these conditions. Functional difficulties and school limitations, adjusted for the effect of sociodemographic characteristics, were examined by epilepsy and comorbid conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three percent of CSHCN had epilepsy. Among CSHCN with epilepsy 53% had comorbid conditions. Overall CSHCN with epilepsy, both with and without comorbid conditions, had more functional difficulties than CSHCN without epilepsy. For example, after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics a higher percentage of children with epilepsy, compared to children without epilepsy, had difficulty with communication (with conditions: 53% vs. 37%, without conditions: 13% vs. 5%). Results for school limitations were similar. After adjustment, a higher percentage of children with epilepsy, compared to children without epilepsy, missed 11 + school days in the past year (with conditions: 36% vs. 18%, without conditions: 21% vs. 15%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CSHCN with epilepsy, compared to CSHCN without epilepsy, were more likely to have functional difficulties and limitations in school attendance regardless of comorbid conditions.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA. Electronic address: php3@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Patricia N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Pastor
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Reuben
authors.affiliation: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Rosemarie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kobau
authors.affiliation: Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Helmers
authors.affiliation: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lukacs
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D003142:Communication; D015897:Comorbidity; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: Comorbid conditions; Disability; Epilepsy