Overview

Diagnosis of epilepsy is based on clinical information, particularly a description of the seizures, and should be confirmed by a specialist. It is supported by investigations, including electroencephalography, which the general practitioner can arrange while awaiting specialist review. Identifying the seizure type, and (where possible) the specific epilepsy syndrome, is important for choosing therapy and informing prognosis, and for guiding genetic testing.

In people with developmental disability, accurate diagnosis of epilepsy may be difficult for several reasons:

• factors that hinder an accurate history (eg fragmented medical records, communication or cognitive difficulty)
• behaviours that may be mistaken for seizures (eg stereotypies, spasms due to spasticity, staring spells)
• reduced capacity to cooperate with investigative procedures.