To assess the role of clinical features in diagnosing seizures in children with autism spectrum disorder who present with staring spells. A 10-year retrospective chart analysis of autism spectrum disorder patients aged 3-14 years was performed at a tertiary care children's hospital. Patient demographics, clinical presentation, and epileptic…

Background: This study explored antiepileptic drug use, frequency of seizures, and the effect of psychotropic drugs with the potential to lower the seizure threshold in persons diagnosed with epilepsy and intellectual disability. Methods: Data for this study were drawn from Wave 3 of the Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal…

The paucity of scientifically rigorous school nursing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) presents barriers to evidence-based care of students with special health-care needs. A "Model for Developing Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines for School Nursing" (School Nursing CPG Model) was developed under the auspices of the National…

Memory deficits significantly decrease an individual's quality of life and are a pervasive comorbidity of epilepsy. Despite the various distinct processes of memory, the majority of epilepsy research has focused on seizures during the encoding phase of memory, therefore the effects of a seizure on other memory processes is relatively unknown. In…

Purpose: We sought to estimate the prevalence of isolated epileptiform activity (IEA) in children with speech and language impairments and discuss the utility of an electroencephalogram (EEG) in assessing these children. Method: We conducted a systematic review and searched for eligible studies in 8 databases. All languages were included, and…

Background: As both epilepsy and challenging behaviour are highly prevalent in adults with intellectual disability (ID) it is important to explore any potential relationships between the two to inform patient care. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between epilepsy factors and challenging behaviour in adults with ID.…

We examined how demographic and clinical characteristics differ between emergency department (ED) visits for epilepsy (EP cohort) and ED visits for other reasons (non-EP cohort) in children with ASD. The data were drawn from the 2009 and 2010 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. We performed both univariate and multivariate analyses to compare…

This systematic review examines the effectiveness of Mozart's music in decreasing seizures in children with epilepsy (Mozart Effect) using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice rating scale©. A search for articles with "Mozart Effect," "child*," and "epilepsy" was conducted in CINAHL Complete, Science…

Whole exome sequencing (WES) has been utilized with increasing frequency to identify mutations underlying rare diseases. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) are genetically heterogeneous, and novel genes for these disorders are rapidly being identified, making these disorders ideal candidates for WES. Here we report a…

Based on the results of the Surrogate Decision-Making Self Efficacy Scale (Lopez, 2009a), this study sought to determine whether nurses working in the field of intellectual disability (ID) experience increased confidence when they implemented the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN) Seizure Algorithm during telephone triage. The…

Background: People with intellectual disability (ID) and epilepsy are more likely to die prematurely than the general population. A significant number of deaths in people with epilepsy may be potentially preventable through better seizure control, regular monitoring and raising awareness among patients and carers. The aim of this project was to…

There are limited studies on the prevalence of epilepsy and co-morbid conditions in older adults with an ID. To begin to address this prevalence of epilepsy was estimated for participants in the Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Associations with demographic variables and co morbid health conditions were…

Epilepsy is a heterogeneous collection of neurological conditions and syndromes characterized by recurrent, unprovoked, paroxysmal seizure activity. It is estimated that 10.5 million children under 15 years have active epilepsy, representing about 25% of the global epilepsy population. Of the 3.5 million people who develop epilepsy annually, 40%…

A high prevalence of epilepsy diagnoses and seizure events among students was identified at a large Midwestern school district. In partnership with the Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota (EFMN), a quality improvement project was conducted to provide education and resources to staff caring for school children with seizures. School nurses (N = 26)…

This study examined the impact of positive psychological traits (positive coping, self-efficacy, and self-esteem) on the relationship between seizure severity and life satisfaction among individuals with epilepsy. Hierarchical regression analysis and correlation techniques were used to test a hypothesized tri-mediation model of life satisfaction…