Visual perception disabilities in epileptic children at the beginning of schooling

Even among normally intelligent epileptic children learning difficulties occur with relative frequency. It seemed plausible to assume that visual perception problems play an important role. We decided, therefore, to analyse the quantity and quality of such disabilities. 42 epileptic children between 5 and 8 years of age, all capable of attending school, were tested with M. Frostig's Developmental Test of Visual Perception. The results can be summarized as follows: 1. The average perceptual quotient fell below the normal range. 2. There were significant differences in perceptual ability between children with primary generalized epilepsy and those with generalized secondary or partial epilepsy, to the disadvantage of the latter group. 3. In particular the Scaled Score of Subtest II measuring figure ground perception proved to be a sensitive criterion. The Subtest is therefore recommended as a screening method to uncover visual perception deficiencies in epileptic children prior to the beginning of schooling.