The purpose of the proposed study is to identify factors related to academic achievement in children with epilepsy. The primary sample will be 75 children with new-onset epilepsy between the ages of 8 and 14 years. A comparison sample of 75 children with new-onset asthma will have a similar age distribution to the epilepsy sample. Environmental characteristics (demographic, family stressors, child stressors, and family resources), person characteristics (IQ/aptitude, illness condition, age, and gender), parent response (parent attitude, parent coping, and parent expectations for child achievement), child response (child attitude, child coping, child self-concept and child behavior problems), and teacher response (teacher expectations for child achievement) will be examined for relationships with academic achievement (standardized test scores and school grades). Data at time of diagnosis (baseline) and 12 months later will be used in the analyses. Differences in academic achievement will be explored between the two samples at baseline and at 12 months. Factors related to academic achievement will be examined at baseline and at 12 months for both groups.
