 Major advances have begun to uncover the potential mediators of emotional regulation disorders and social comorbidities in epilepsy, but important gaps remain in the early detection, treatment and prevention of these disorders. A very small number of investigations have examined children with epilepsy at or near the time of diagnosis. This is a time during which the effects of chronic epilepsy, potential averse social effects of epilepsy, and other complicating aetiological effects are minimized. 