Counseling children and parents about epilepsy

In spite of remarkable progress in drug therapy, childhood and adolescent epilepsy is often a distressing condition lasting several years before possible recovery. Adaptation problems to the disease, and also to health recovery, are likely to occur. Stigma and discrimination may persist also after recovery. Learning problems involve a high number of patients. Neuropsychological problems related to localization of the epileptic focus may be present; intellectual deterioration in more severe cases and in some specific syndromes may occur. These problems are not unknown, but therapeutic effort is often directed only towards seizure control. The importance of counseling children and parents is stressed by the authors, and practical advice is given on planning doctor-patient dialogues, in order to prevent non-justified restrictions in day life, fears and negative reactions, and to ameliorate intrafamilial relation, integration in the school milieu and compliance towards drug intake. The role of neuropsychological evaluation and pedagogic advice is also emphasized. Children and adolescents with epilepsy and their families need more than medical therapeutic support to get an acceptable quality of life. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved