Motor and Movement Collection

This article teaches parents and other caregivers how to support the motor development of infants with congenital heart defects (CHDs).

This resource describes the many ways families can get professional help in promoting their baby's motor skills.

Parents and other caregivers have many opportunities to build a young child's motor skills. This resource explains how to target critical motor development in early childhood.

Early childhood is a critical time for intervention, and professionals can help families to promote a young child's motor skills. This resource explains these services, and how to gain access to them.

This resource describes the many ways caregivers can help their school-age children to build and maintain motor skills.

Children with heart defects are often able to get professional help in building and maintaining their motor skills. This resource explains how.

Teenagers with congenital heart defects (CHDs) can continue to develop their motor skills. Caregivers and educators can help them by using these strategies.

These services can help teenagers with heart defects to build new motor skills, and to strengthen and maintain the ones they have.

Adults with heart defects usually have a higher quality of life when they stay active. These strategies can help adults to learn new physical skills, and to keep up the ones they have.

Some young adults with heart defects lose strength, flexibility, endurance, or coordination as a result of an illness or injury. Some become out of shape, and are unsure how to get back into shape. Professionals can help adults to regain motor skills, and to learn new ones.

Many children with congenital heart defects (CHDs) have early delays in their motor development, but eventually catch up with other kids their age. Occasionally, kids have more lasting differences in how they use their bodies. This articles explains diagnoses of motor disorders.

This article for providers explains the ways in which physical therapy can support the healing and healthy development of their patients with congenital heart defects (CHDs).

In this presentation, experts in cardiac fitness discuss strategies for assessing the fitness of kids with congenital heart defects (CHDs).

Babies with congenital heart defects (CHDs) almost always qualify for physical therapy. Physical therapy can help them to meet their motor milestones, and to learn new ways to move and explore with their bodies.

Physical therapy is often a helpful or even necessary intervention for toddlers and preschools with congenital heart defects (CHDs). Families have many options for finding physical therapy.

Children and teenagers with congenital heart defects (CHDs). can often still benefit from physical therapy. Some kids receive ongoing physical therapy to build and maintain skills, while other kids receive physical therapy short-term while recovering from an illness or injury.

Adults with congenital heart defects (CHDs) often receive PT to build, maintain, or recover their physical skills. Physical therapy can help adults become or stay active, and can build strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination.

This resource explains to providers the multiple ways occupational therapy (OT) can support patients with congenital heart defects throughout development.

Occupational therapy is a vital intervention for many babies with congenital heart defects. It can help them to meet milestones in all domains, and to participate more fully in their dailiy lives.

Occupational therapy can help toddlers and preschools with heart defects to learn skills that help them feel successful at home and in the community.

The goal of occupational therapy (OT) is to help people participate as fully as possible in daily life. For kids and teens with congenital heart defects (CHDs), OT can help them build physical, emotional, social, thinking, and life skills, and to get closer to their goals.

Occupational therapy (OT) can be an important resource for people with congenital heart defects (CHDs) throughout their lives. As their abilities and goals evolve, OT can help them to be successful at home, school, and work.

Hippotherapy and therapeutic riding can help many kids with congenital heart defects (CHDs) to make progress in their physical skills.

Early Intervention (EI) is a critical resource for babies and toddlers (ages 0-2) with congenital heart defects (CHDs), and gives them access to the services they need to make appropriate progress in their motor skills.

Some children with delayed motor skills benefit from tools that can help them to experience the skills they are not yet able to accomplish independently.

This video explores how exercise contributes to children's development across domains, and why it is especially important for kids with congenital heart defects (CHDs).

This article explores the connection between regular exercise and quality of life in people with congenital heart defects, throughout childhood and into adulthood.

Cardiac fitness programs are supervised treatments that can help people with congenital heart defects (CHDs) to establish and maintain a safe and effective exercise program.

These videos show kids going through a cardiac fitness program, and explaining the benefits of the experience.

Here is the complete recording of the 2024 Boston Children's Hospital Cardiac Fitness Symposium.

This professional presentation explores the current data on outcomes of cardiac fitness interventions for patients with congenital heart defects (CHDs).

This professional presentation describes how a hospital or clinic can launch and run a successful cardiac fitness program for patients with congenital heart defects (CHDs).

This resource guides professionals in caring for patients with congenital heart defects (CHDs) and developmental delays or disabilities, including motor delays and disabilities.

This resource provides key developmental screening questions that clinicians can use during routine office visits. These questions can help clinicians to notice developmental differences early, and to direct patients to appropriate and timely interventions.

Clinicians can use these tools to monitor children's development, and to detect developmental delays or disabilities early and accurately.

These age-based family guides explain typical development, possible delays, and appropriate interventions in all primary areas of development: motor, cognitive, language, social, and emotional. Caregivers can select the guide that matches their child's age, and then select the "move" tab to learn more about motor development at that age.