Direct family caregivers of population-based adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the use of prescribed medication and its relationship with health-related behaviors, medical care and preventive health utilization of people with intellectual disabilities. Cross-sectional data on 1419…

Researchers have paid increasing attention to mental health issues in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) over the last decades. However, little is known about how rates of clinical referrals, types of mental health diagnoses and treatment in adults with ASDs and intellectual disability have changed. We examined patterns of change in…

A study of the development of epilepsy in adolescents with autism investigated the brain dysfunctions in 158 patients (ages 15-28) with autism through the examination of paroxysmal electroencephalographic abnormalities. Results indicated that 47.5% of the individuals with autism had such abnormalities in the frontal region. (CR)

A study investigated whether the effects of anti-epileptic drugs were (carbamazepine, phenobarbitone, and phenytoin) related, to the incidence of fractures in 85 Irish patients. If patients were only on one antiepileptic drug, there appeared to be no correlation; however, if patients were taking a combination of three drugs, they were more likely…

Tested the hypothesis that psychological adjustment to epilepsy would be a joint function of subjects' (N=50) perceived repertoire of self-control skills and the extent to which they were exposed to uncontrollable seizures. Results showed that high-resourceful epileptics exposed to lower frequencies of seizures coped better with their disability.…

This study assessed the prevalence of epileptic seizures in 378 children attending special education centers for students with intellectual disability in Amman, Jordan. Findings indicated that 20% had a history of epilepsy. Epilepsy was more prevalent among children with severe disability than mild intellectual disability, males than females, and…

This study examined the amount of psychosocial disturbance experienced by adults (n=53) in India with epilepsy, as well as the relationship between psychosocial dysfunction, duration of illness, and computerized axial tomography findings. Results indicated that three-quarters exhibited no or very mild psychosocial dysfunction. (DB)

The scripts are intended for broadcasting in translation to villages in Pakistan to raise awareness about disabilities and to provide practical advice to parents of disabled children. The initial broadcast emphasizes the essential humanity of all disabled persons, while subsequent broadcasts address issues in raising children with mental…

Investigated family behavior when a child is epileptic by comparing families with an epileptic child to control families without one. (Author/DB)

Aim: To study the sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients, who presented to the child and adolescent psychiatric services of a tertiary care centre over a 26-year period (1980-2005). Methodology: Data were abstracted retrospectively from detailed work up files of all subjects assessed in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Clinic…

Examination of the prevalence of epilepsy and health service utilization in 1,595 people with intellectual disabilities in Wales found 16.1% had epilepsy. Standardized activity ratios were 3.07, 2.03, and 3.09 for inpatients, outpatients, and accident and emergency, respectively. Patients with intellectual disability and co-existing epilepsy used…

Evaluates the efficacy of a two-day psychoeducational program among patients with epilepsy in Nigeria. Results reveal that participants showed a substantial significant decrease in level of depression; a significant increase in the knowledge about epilepsy; and significant decrease in all measures of neurotic disorders except for hysterical…

This issue, primarily written in French, contains articles by researchers in the fields of linguistics and social sciences and by health care professionals. The articles include the following: "The Collective Working Out of Medical Knowledge" (Lorenza Mondada); "Involvement and Constraint in a Surgical Consultation Room"…

Partially written by a British student with Asperger syndrome, this article recounts the student's experiences of being excluded from a mainstream school due to the school's inability to respond adequately to recurring epileptic seizures. The article suggests that inclusive schools must change to meet students' individual needs and encourage…

Childhood disabilities, including intellectual disabilities (ID), are thought to occur in 5-17% of children in developing countries around the world. In order to identify and describe the childhood disabilities occurring in a rural South African population, as well as the context in which they occur, a study was carried out in the Bushbuckridge…