DISABILITY DUE TO RESTRICTIONS IN CHILDHOOD EPILEPSY

Parents and doctors impose restrictions on children with epilepsy to a void seizure-related injuries. We intended to quantify disability due to such restrictions by using a newly developed parent-completed 10-it em scale (The Hague Restrictions in Childhood Epilepsy Scale, HARCES). Parents reported disability on at least one item of the HARCES in 83% of 122 children with epilepsy and a remission from seizures for less than 1 year. Psychometric analysis of the scale's reliability demonstr ated good internal consistency and retest stability. Its validity was supported by the association between HARCES scores and the physicians' advice imposing restrictions. We found no substantial association wit h such variables as seizure type, short-term remission, or seizure act ivity. These findings suggest that in children with recurrent seizures , restrictions were probably not optimally adapted to seizure-related risks. A repeat test after 1 year showed that a seizure remission of m ore than 1 year substantially reduced restrictions, which is probably associated with an improvement in quality of life.