The developmental profiles of children with idiopathic tonic-clonic epilepsy as measured on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales

The effect of epilepsy on the development of children with well-controlled tonic-clonic epilepsy was assessed using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales. Twenty-five participants identified as tonic-clonic epilepsy sufferers and twenty-five participants without epilepsy, matched for age, sex, location and socio-economic status were tested. Their ages ranged from three to six and a half years. There were significant differences between the mean general quotient scores and the mean quotient scores on all sub-scales. The epileptic children performed at a significantly lower level than the control group. This was true even when the pairs, where the subjects had had status epilepticus, were excluded from the analyses. Subjects in the lower socio-economic group performed significantly poorer than their peers, which suggests that their social environment acts as a further deterrent in optimalising their development. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2003, 15(1): 59-6