Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children With Congenital Heart Disease: Evaluation and Management: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Circulation
Marino, B. S., Lipkin, P. H., et al. (2012).
Circulation, 126(9), 1143-1172.
This guideline provides recommendations to optimize the neurodevelopmental outcomes of children with congenital heart disease.
American Heart Association
The following strategies may be useful and beneficial for children with congenital heart disease who are high risk for a developmental disorders or disabilities (DD):
<ul>
<li>Refer for a formal developmental and medical evaluation, including an evaluation from a speech-language pathologist to assess feeding, speech, and/or language skills (Level C Evidence).</li>
<li>Refer to early intervention services or early childhood special education, which may include the areas of social and communication skills, before a specific developmental diagnosis is confirmed (Level B Evidence).</li>
<li>Periodic reevaluations of DD and developmental delays at ages 12 to 24 months, 3 to 5 years, and 11 to 12 years, which may include a speech-language pathologist if the child demonstrates impairments in feeding, social interaction, or speech and/or language skills (Level C Evidence).</li>
</ul>
Hearing testing should be considered for toddlers and preschool children with congenital heart disease who present with language delays, who have genetic syndromes, or who have undergone extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy.
An audiological examination should be conducted as part of any formal evaluation for infants with congenital heart disease who are suspected of having a hearing loss, who have had surgery since the neonatal audiology assessment, or who do not have record of a neonatal audiological assessment,
