Seizure Types and Epilepsy Syndromes in Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Most adults with a developmental disability have either partial or symptomatic generalized epilepsy. Seizures in these patients can be of many types:

• Simple and complex partial seizures
• Tonic-clonic seizures
• Atypical absence seizures
• Tonic seizures
• Atonic seizures
• Myoclonic seizures

Epilepsy syndromes

The most commonly seen epilepsy syndromes in adults with DDs include:

• Frontal lobe epilepsy
• Temporal lobe epilepsy
• Parieto-occipital epilepsy
• Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
• Rasmussen’s encephalitis
• Progressive Myoclonic Epilepsy
• Generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures

Some individuals with a developmental disability may also have an idiopathic epilepsy syndrome.