Epilepsy and Adults with Learning Disabilities
KEY POINTS
• Approximately 1000 people die every year as a result of epilepsy, mostly as a result of seizures.
• Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder, affecting people of all ages. At least one in 20 people will have one seizure during their lifetime.
• Accurate eye-witness accounts are fundamental in helping to make a correct diagnosis, as, often, the person having the seizure has no recollection of what has happened.
• The risk of premature death in adults with a learning disability with epilepsy is two to three times greater than in the general population.
We will examine epilepsy and the implications of identification, types of seizures, prevalence and the care of epilepsy in adults with learning disabilities. Epilepsy will be defined and the categories of epilepsy will be outlined. The management of epilepsy will be examined and strategies dis cussed. The use of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) will be examined in the context of recently published National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines (2004). Epilepsy is still a stigmatizing condition and, due to its unpredictable pattern, can cause fear and distress in those who do not understand what may be happening to a person having a seizure. Betts and Smith (1994) also point out that people with epilepsy are neglected in comparison with people, for example, who have diabetes or asthma. It must be noted that epilepsy is not a benevolent condition; approximately 1000 people die every year as a result of epilepsy, mostly as a result of seizures (Hanna et al. 2002).
Epilepsy can be defined as:
‘. . . a tendency to have recurrent seizures, brought about by a sudden, temporary interruption in some or all of the neurons in the brain.’
(National Society for Epilepsy)
