The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

About one-third of individuals with autism also have epilepsy. Treatment of children and adults with this combination of problems presents several challenges which must be addressed if therapy is to be successful. I plan to review briefly epilepsy diagnosis and classification; most of the presentation will focus on drug treatment and several non-drug therapies such as vagus nerve stimulation and the ketogenic diet. About one third of people with autism have a tendency to have seizures and therefore meet diagnostic criteria for epilepsy. Treatment of adults and children with both autism and epilepsy presents special challenges which must be addressed if therapy is to be successful. Our family's experience was typical; the specialists we consulted had expertise in only one field, and there was little in the way of communication beside the paper chart notes going through the mail to the offices which were often in different hospitals. The goal of my presentation will be to review epilepsy diagnosis and classification and then spend most of the time available on treatment which has changed in the past 15 years with the introduction of many new medications and several new non-medication treatments such as vagus nerve stimulation and the ketogenic diet. I also plan to review several therapies currently in the research stage, such as deep brain stimulation. I plan to use vignettes from my own practice and my family's experience to illustrate special issues, such as drug side effects, which may be more difficult to deal with when the patient has autism. Attendees to the presentation should come away with a better understanding of how epilepsy is diagnosed and treated, the types of new drugs available, and some of the alternative non-drug therapies currently available. An extended question and answer session will be necessary to provide time to discuss particular treatment issues with those attending.

Content Area: Medicine and Research