Why Is Epilepsy More Common in People with Learning Disabilities

There are many types of epileptic seizures and it can affect awareness, feelings, movement or behavior.

Epilepsy, a brain disorder that causes recurring, unprovoked seizures, is known to be a persistent and potentially damaging condition. A diagnosis of epilepsy may still cause stigma in our society. Seizures occur when there is an unusual excessive electrical discharge from the brain, resulting in unforeseen disturbed behavior and could lead to emotional, motor or sensory function with or without changes in consciousness. Epilepsy is a multitude of these recurrent unprovoked seizures. 

Typically, a learning disability does not result in epilepsy, nor does epilepsy always result in a learning disability. However, it is possible for both to happen together. Epilepsy may be more prone in people with LD as epilepsy is often caused by the same brain damage or maldevelopment that caused the intellectual disability (Olutu, Shankar, & Bernal, 2016). It may also cause brain lesions or dysfunctions that lead to permanent LD. 

Epilepsy is found to be more common in people with learning disabilities as compared to the general population. The prevalence rate is at least 20 times higher and this is especially true in severe and profound learning disabilities. It was noted that around 1 in 3 people who have mild to moderate learning disability will have epilepsy. It was presumed that more severe learning disability will lead to individuals having epilepsy, around 1 in 5 people with epilepsy also have a learning disability. Among the different types of epilepsy, Rolandic epilepsy is most commonly associated with learning disability where seizures start between the ages of 6 to 8. Children performed significantly lower in spelling, reading aloud and reading comprehension. If epilepsy is not controlled well, it can have serious negative consequences on both quality and mortality of life. 

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological disorders in childhood. The cause is multifactorial which is dependent on the type of epileptic syndrome, age of onset and the antiepileptic treatment being selected. Epilepsy can be classified according to the site of the seizure onset or the presumed seizure aetiology. 

There are many types of epileptic seizures and it can affect awareness, feelings, movement or behavior. Some examples include automatic repetitive movements like lip smacking or fiddling. Confusion could also happen and some people could have long periods of confusion (Epilepsy society, 2024). Seizures can be classified into 2 main components: partial and generalized. Partial seizures only occur on one side of the brain while generalized seizures take place on both sides of the brain in a simultaneous manner and consciousness is impaired. Seizures happen the same irregardless of whether one has a learning disability or not.

All in all, frequent seizures would cause impairment of alertness and mental slowing. Prolonged duration of seizures would affect memory impairment. There is a high comorbidity between learning disability and epilepsy (Pavlou & Gkampeta, 2011). Epileptic seizures affect how the brains work which could in turn lead to learning disabilities, thus it is important for people with learning disabilities to be more cautious. 

Written by: Keisha

References

Epilepsy Society. (2024). Learning disabilities. https://epilepsysociety.org.uk/about-epilepsy/what-epilepsy/learning-disabilities#:~:text=Around%201%20in%203%20people,also%20have%20a%20learning%20disability. 

Olotu V, Shankar R, & Bernal  J. (2016). Epilepsy. Intellectual Disability and Health. Retrieved from https://www.intellectualdisability.info/physical-health/articles/epilepsy#:~:text=Epilepsy%20is%20often%20caused%20by,of%20the%20onset%20of%20Alzheimer%27s. 

Freepik. (2023, December 21). Hand-drawn flat design epilepsy illustration [Vector image]. https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/hand-drawn-flat-design-epilepsy-illustration_23162744.htm

Pavlou, E. & Gkampeta, A. (2011). Learning disorders in children with epilepsy. Children Nervous System, 27, 373-379.