Conversational repair in pediatric epilepsy

This study examined if children with complex partial seizures disorder (CPS ) and primary generalized epilepsy with absence (PGE) were impaired in the use of self-initiated repair during a conversation compared to normal child ren. Transcriptions of speech samples of 92 CPS, 51 PGE, and 65 normal chil dren; ages 5-16 years, were coded for self-initiated repair according to Ev ans (1985). The WISC-R, a structured psychiatric interview, and seizure-rel ated information were obtained for each child. We found impaired use of rep air in both the CPS and PGE groups compared to the normal subjects. The CPS patients, particularly those with a temporal lobe focus, overused self-ini tiated corrections of referents and syntax compared to the PGE and normal s ubjects. The CPS and PGE patients with frontal lobe involvement underused f illers compared to the normal children. These findings provide additional e vidence that both CPS and PGE impact the ongoing development of children's communication skills. (C) 2001 Academic Press.