Research article summary:

Seizure drawings: insight into the self-image of children with epilepsy.

Abstract Extract:
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that is associated with numerous psychological challenges, especially in children. Drawings have been underutilized as a method to obtain insight into psychological issues in children with epilepsy. We asked 105 children ... (Full abstract text below)

Published 2003Feb in Journal: Epilepsy Behav (Language : eng)

Full Pubmed Extract

This information was retrieved, real-time, on your behalf from the public area of the Pubmed website:

1. Epilepsy Behav. 2003 Feb;4(1):43-56

Seizure drawings: insight into the self-image of children with epilepsy.

Stafstrom CE, Havlena J

Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Madison, 53792, USA. stafstrom@neurology.wisc.edu

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder that is associated with numerous psychological challenges, especially in children. Drawings have been underutilized as a method to obtain insight into psychological issues in children with epilepsy. We asked 105 children with epilepsy, ages 5 to 18 years, to draw a picture of what it is like to have a seizure. Across ages and epilepsy syndromes, the drawings showed evidence of impaired self-concept, low self-esteem, and a sense of helplessness and vulnerability. Overall, the drawings of human figures were less developed than expected for chronological age. In some drawings, indicators of underlying depression were found. When considered by epilepsy syndrome or seizure type, some specific artistic features were noted. Children with simple partial (motor) seizures drew distorted body parts, especially limbs. Those with complex partial seizures depicted sensory symptoms and mental status changes such as confusion. Children with generalized tonic-clonic seizures showed shaking extremities. Drawings by children with absence seizures illustrated mainly staring. In conclusion, drawings are a powerful method to examine the self-concept of children with epilepsy and gain insight into their feelings about themselves and their world.

PMID : 12609227 [PubMed - Indexed for MEDLINE]

This information is obtained from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright. Type "NLM copyright" into Google for more information.

Full Author Information

First Name	LastName	Initials
Carl E	Stafstrom	CE
Janice	Havlena	J

Affiliation: Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Madison, 53792, USA. stafstrom@neurology.wisc.edu

3rd Party provider links

Click the links below to go to related 3rd party information:

MESH categories and related page links

This article was linked to the MESH categories shown on the left below. The links on the right are related Memletics pages.

Links for this article

For links to places where you can get the full text of this article see links. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text.

New! Using similar technology to this site, we have launched find-health-articles.com, targeting over 1 million health research article abstracts.

Here are some articles related to this one (by title keywords):

Long term outcome of temporal lobe epilepsy surgery: analyses of 140 consecutive patients.

Levetiracetam may be more effective for late-onset partial epilepsy.

Increased expression of the neuronal glutamate transporter (EAAT3/EAAC1) in hippocampal and neocortical epilepsy.

Evidence of neuronal injury outside the medial temporal lobe in temporal lobe epilepsy: N-acetylaspartate concentration reductions detected with multisection proton MR spectroscopic imaging--initial experience.

Effect of age of onset of temporal lobe epilepsy on the severity and the nature of preoperative memory deficits.

Depression and epilepsy: how closely related are they?

Memory lateralization in medial temporal lobe epilepsy assessed by functional MRI.

Insight: its relationship with cognitive function, brain volume and symptoms in schizophrenia.

Epileptic fast activity can be explained by a model of impaired GABAergic dendritic inhibition.

Epilepsy surgery in childhood.

>>> Get more research article abstracts like these, or browse abstracts.

Keywords in this article:

absence, across, ages, artistic, asked, associated, body, challenges, changes, children, chronic, chronological, clonic, complex, concept, conclusion, confusion, considered, depicted, depression, developed, disorder, distorted, drawings, drew, epilepsy, esteem, evidence, examine, expected, extremities, features, feelings, figures, gain, generalized, helplessness, human, illustrated, impaired, indicators, insight, issues, like, limbs, low, mental, method, motor, noted, numerous, obtain, partial, parts, picture, powerful, psychological, seizure, seizures, self, sense, sensory, shaking, simple, specific, staring, status, symptoms, syndromes, themselves, tonic, type, underlying, underutilized, vulnerability, years

Also, see our new free speed reading online course (beta version)