Congenital Heart Defects Association

Popular pages

• Animated videos for children with CHD: easing anxiety and building child-appropriate understanding

  Children with CHD are faced with a particular challenge--the challenge to understand the meanings of their heart problems. This includes, but is not limited to, the actions taken and to-be-taken about...

• The traumatized child with CHD: understanding the traumatized child’s broadcast and how we respond

  Virtually every child with CHD has experienced trauma. Trauma occurs when the mind’s capacity to process is overwhelmed by an overwhelming experience, including an internal stimulus of big feelings. A...

• How to talk about CHD: Two systems of self-regulation in “CHD families”

  Parents play an important role in setting the stage for an open-system of regulation, especially as regards CHD.

• Everyday things that illustrate heart function: making heart function interactive at home

  Not everyone has a model of a heart laying around. And, even if you have one, it might not be the best tool to help show your child how their heart actually works or what is not working properly.

• “Play is the work of childhood”: Understanding the Importance of Play

  Play is the foundation of all learning. How might you reclaim the value of play and mental health in your family?

• Hidden meanings of actions and reactions of children in therapy: the psychotherapy series

  In this brief article, I wish to outline 20 common ways that children act and react within the relationship with a child therapist.