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Epilepsy and Learning Disability
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Epilepsy and Learning Disability (LD) can occur together. This is often related to brain damage owing to head injury, birth anoxia, brain infections, genetic or hereditary disorders.
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Can Epilepsy Cause Learning Disability?
Yes, especially if they share the same cause of brain damage.
Children with LD and epilepsy more often have complex partial seizures.
In general if epilepsy and LD are associated, the epilepsy is more difficult to control and this can aggravate the LD further.
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Children with epilepsy may have difficulties in scholastic and academic performance for a variety of reasons:
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The seizure itself may interrupt school attendance, involve frequent visits related to medical care to doctor or hospital, and if seizures are frequent can cause brain damage.
Medication and its side effects can interfere with academics
Adjustment problems due to epilepsy and lack of co-operation by peers and teachers
Last but not the least, stigmatisation and marginalisation, overprotection by parents and the fear of seizures occurring at school can cause a lot of emotional stress and interfere with studies
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One factor to be noted in the relationship between Epilepsy and learning disorders is Gender.
Epilepsy is slightly more common in males
LD is twice as common in males than in females
The male differentiated brain is normally less skilled in verbal tasks and better at visuospatial tasks
In LD however there is difficulty with both verbal and visuaspatial tasks
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Language functions are more compartmentalised to one hemisphere in male differentiated brains
Can Epilepsy Make LD Worse?
There are many reasons why it can:
Difference in scholastic skills may be more obvious as the child grows up
Lifestyle is restrictive and the child may achieve or aspire to achieve little or limited education
Underlying disease may be progressive
Drugs may impair cognition and affect academic performance
Subclinical seizures may interfere with learning
Additional brain damage as after status or repeated head injury can occur
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Lifestyle Advice for Epileptic
Some avoidable factors that can provoke seizures are:
Advice for Caregivers
Coping with Epilepsy and LD needs
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Love
Patience
Perseverance
Realistic and Practical approach
Need based training
Acceptance and Understanding
Appreciation and encouragement.
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Some basics about Learning Disorders and Disabilities:
Learning Disorders are different and must be distinguished from Learning Disability
Lack of sleep
Inadequate food
Poverty
Poor health
Bad family atmosphere
Inadequate peer recognition
Other social factors
Learning Disability implies a specific brain disturbance such as
Dyslexia
Autism
Attention Deficit Disorder
Minimal Brain Dysfunction
Developmental Speech & Language Disorders
Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia
In dyslexia there is a weakness in the area of the left hemisphere of the brain responsible for linking the perception and production of the sound patterns of speech.
This is inherited via a gene on Chromosome 6 and 15
On PET scans in dyslexics during phonological tasks the insula shows less activity
The connection between how words look and how words sound is the crucial defect in dyslexia
Intelligence in children with dyslexia can be average or superior
Children with severe learning disabilities have IQ levels less than 50% of average
Those with moderate LD have a level between 50-70%
Most children with LD may have normal or superior intelligence
Those with severe LD & epilepsy may have other impairments (about 25%)
Minimal Brain Dysfunction
Various combinations of hyperactivity, learning disability and motor co-ordination problems with or without epilepsy can occur
These deficits may occur singly or in different degrees as a mixed variety
Most of these children can easily be integrated into normal society and school as their deficits are usually mild.
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