Developmental language disorders and epilepsy

The association of speech and language disorders with epilepsy is well-known in children with acquired epileptic aphasia, involving such entities as Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS), continuous spike wave in slow wave sleep (CSWSS) epilepsy and benign partial epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes (BPECTS). The possible association between epilepsy and a subgroup of children with developmental dysphasia is reported less frequently. Lack of controlled prospective studies of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG), and the use of medication, in children with developmental dysphasia, may deny appropriate treatment strategies to children with severe developmental speech and language disorders.