This book is devoted to the neuropsychological description of childhood
epilepsy, a neurolo- cal condition that constitutes one of the most
prevalent forms of chronic and disabling childhood illnesses. Indeed,
one child out of 20 experiences one or more seizures before the age of
5, and one in a hundred develops epilepsy as a chronic disorder.
Approximately half of these children with epilepsy display academic
difficulties and/or behavioral disorders. Moreoever, it is now believed
that a sizable proportion of children with learning disability suffer
from undiagnosed epilepsy. While a great number of textbooks have been
devoted to various medical aspects of chi- hood epilepsy (diagnosis,
genetics, etiology, drug and surgical treatment, etc.), there have been
no comprehensive accounts of the cognitive consequences of this
condition. Advance of medical knowledge has shown that childhood
epilepsy should not be considered as a single disorder but encompasses a
whole range of different conditions that exhibit specific clinical EEG
and outcome characteristics. It is not becoming apparent that these
various clinical entities have different cognitive expression that yet
need to be specified. The purpose of this book is to provide a complete
up-to-date analysis of this multi-faceted pathology.