WIP 93 - Factors Affecting Need for Special Education in Children with Congenital Heart Disease

Poster Number: WIP 93
Publication Number: WIP 93.745

Background: Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental impairment and are more likely to require special education (SPED) support. Receipt of early intervention as a predictor of receipt of SPED has not been previously examined. Furthermore, age at kindergarten entry for children with CHD has not been reported.

Objective: To compare receipt of early intervention, defined as access to therapies or access to organized programming prior to kindergarten, between children with CHD who did and did not require SPED supports after kindergarten entry.

Design/Methods: This is a single-center retrospective observational study of children (N=216) with CHD who underwent cardiac surgery in the first year of life. This study was approved (with waiver of consent) by the IRB of Baylor College of Medicine. Clinical data (mortality categorization, hospital readmissions), sociodemographic information (race/ethnicity, maternal education, insurance, address with Child Opportunity Index correlation), therapies, organized programming, age at kindergarten entry, and access to SPED were obtained from the EMR. Access to therapies was categorized by time point (access to therapies prior to 18 months or not) and by public (Early Childhood Intervention) versus private. Access to organized programming was categorized as public programming (Head Start), daycare/preschool, or Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). We plan to summarize descriptive data using means, median, or frequencies as appropriate. We will compare intervention characteristics and sociodemographic factors between those that received SPED with those that did not using independent two-sided t-test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, Chi-squared test, or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate. In addition, univariate and multivariate analysis will be performed to assess factors independently associated with SPED using Stata version 17. Chart review completion by 12/31/23 with data analysis completed by 1/31/24 and full results by 4/1/24.