Developmental dyscalculia in children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsies in a Brazilian sample

• Autor(a) principal: Thomé,Ursula
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Alves,Sandra Regina da Paixão, Guerreiro,Sabrina Mendonça, Costa,Célia Regina Carvalho Machado da, Moreira,Fernanda de Souza, Lima,Andrea Bandeira, Tavares,Maria Rita Ferreira, Maia Filho,Heber Souza
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2014000400283
• topic: mathematical ability; dyscalculia; epilepsy; children; adolescents

Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent chronic disorders of childhood which can threaten child development and mental health. Among cognitive disorders, dyscalculia is one of the most important. In this study, 39 children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsy underwent clinical and neuropsychological assessment to determine the intellectual level, math skills, reading and writing performance and neuropsychological profile. It was observed that the mathematical ability was below schooling expectations in a higher frequency than expected. There were no significant differences in mathematical performance among groups divided by number of antiepileptic drugs used, duration of disease and types and frequency of seizures. There was a positive correlation with intelligence quotient and attentional and reading level. These results suggest the existence not only of dyscalculia, but the concurrence of attentional and reading problems for the poor mathematical performance in this population.