Speech therapy recommendations for mothers of children with heart disease: some perspectives

Abstract

During the implementation of a Speech Language Pathology and Audiology program in a shelter house for cardiac children in the city of São Paulo, maternal demands related to different aspects of development and difficulties inherent to this treatment context where identified. This speech language and hearing program was constituted by different actions, mainly in a preventive way, aiming essentially to children language development and feeding behavior, from the mother’s questions and guidance demands. These demands, beside the observations made, led to the formulation of a set of recommendations for mothers of cardiac children which aimed to contribute to the effectiveness of mother/child interaction in this context, with views to minimize risks for child development.