The comprehensive care of children with epilepsy involves not only the treatment of seizures but also enhancement of their quality of life. Children with developmental disabilities are often unable to attend traditional summer camps because of safety concerns, as their prevalence of epilepsy is high and tends to be more severe. The goal of the current study is to describe our epilepsy experience at a summer camp adapted for children with developmental disabilities, with which the U. S. military has had a long-standing relationship. A retrospective chart review of all children and young adults attending summer sessions between 2008 and 2010 was performed. A total of 1,526 camp sessions were attended by 818 campers (mean 13.7 years), with 32.3% of campers having epilepsy. Of campers with epilepsy, 46.6% had cerebral palsy, 57.6% intellectual disability, and 28.8% autism spectrum disorders. Seizure frequency was at least weekly in 21.2% and at least daily in 13.3%. A history of status epilepticus was reported in 34.9%. There were seven camp infirmary visits because of seizures (incidence 1.4%), including two for status epilepticus. Thus, despite a high prevalence of severe epilepsy, in the setting of appropriate safety precautions, a safe camp experience can be provided, as seizure-related complications are rare.
Based on our retrospective chart review study, group education on headache evaluation and lifestyle management has potential as an effective, low-cost intervention for treatment of chronic headaches among adolescents.
Our objective is to determine the prevalence of recurrent headaches in military-dependent children and to study the changes in headache frequency, severity, and duration during a parental deployment. Recurrent headaches are common in children and are often intensified by stressful life events. Military-dependent children are subjected to unique stressors, most significantly parental wartime deployment. No studies have evaluated the effect of deployment on somatic complaints, to include headaches. We conducted a parental, cross-sectional questionnaire-based study in patients aged 5 to 17 years who were seen in the pediatric or adolescent clinics at a regional military medical center. The overall prevalence of recurrent headaches in the preceding 12 months was 30%. Almost half reported headache worsening in frequency, severity, or duration over the previous 12 months, whether a parent was deployed or not. For children who had experienced parental deployment, younger children and females were affected more often. Younger females had the highest rates of headache worsening. This trend may indicate a more detrimental effect of parental deployment on childhood headache in certain populations.
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