title: Brief clinical screening for academic underachievement in new-onset childhood epilepsy: utility and longitudinal results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to determine the lifetime rate and distribution of supportive academic and educational services provided to children with new- or recent-onset epilepsy and typically developing controls, the relationship of this history to objective academic test performance, and the course of performance over serial evaluations (baseline and 2 and 5years later).
  
  
  METHODS
  Research participants were 91 children aged 8-18 at study entry, including 50 youth with recent-onset epilepsy (28 focal [FE] and 22 generalized [GE] epilepsy) and healthy first-degree cousin controls (n=41). The sample with epilepsy included children with uncomplicated epilepsy and normal imaging and development. Lifetime history of a diversity of supportive educational services was determined via a structured interview with parents at the baseline study visit. Associations were examined between these support services and participants' academic performance in reading, spelling, and arithmetic (Wide Range Achievement Test-Revision 3 [WRAT3] [12]) during three serial study visits including baseline and 2 and 5years later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children with epilepsy had a higher lifetime rate of provision of diverse academic supportive services compared to controls at the baseline visit (52% vs. 18%). These services antedated epilepsy diagnosis in the majority (80.8%) of the children with epilepsy. Among children with epilepsy, children who presented with academic services had significantly lower WRAT3 reading, spelling, and arithmetic performance at baseline and at 2- and 5-year follow-ups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A brief structured clinical interview conducted with parents identifies children with epilepsy who are at academic risk at the time of diagnosis, with that risk persisting up to 5years later.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA. Electronic address: almane@neurology.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Dace
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Almane
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Jana E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Daren C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rosalind Franklin School of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seidenberg
authors.affiliation: Marshfield Clinic Neurosciences, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koehn
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Hermann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D004493:Education; D004522:Educational Status; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000523:psychology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics / Q000193:education; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011932:Reading; D014477:Underachievement
keywords: Academic; Childhood; New-onset epilepsy; Screening; WRAT3