The Heart-Mind Connection | Dr. Dawn Ilardi

<p>If your child was born with a heart condition, there&#39;s a connection between their heart and their brain that most families are never told about.</p><p><br></p><p>Dr. Dawn Ilardi is a pediatric neuropsychologist who has spent nearly two decades studying the relationship between congenital heart disease and brain development. In this episode, she breaks it down in plain terms — what a cardiologist sees vs. what a neuropsychologist sees when they look at the same kid, the two misconceptions parents fall into after a heart procedure, and why the resources you access as a parent can be just as powerful a predictor of your child&#39;s outcomes as the medical complexity itself.</p><p><br></p><p>We also get personal. I share what it was like watching my own parents navigate three heart procedures and why my dad still can&#39;t talk about it without shutting down. Dawn responds with something that stopped me: taking care of yourself as a parent IS taking care of your child.</p><p><br></p><p>She closes with what she&#39;d tell every parent before their child&#39;s procedure: stay grounded, know your role, and maintain hope.</p><p><br></p><p>Learn more about Dr. Ilardi&#39;s work:</p><p>Parenting Kids with CHD: parentingchd.podia.com</p><p>Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Center: pedneurocenter.com/dawn-ilardi/</p><p><br></p><p>Contacts: The One Percent Heart — onepercentheart.com • Instagram @theCHDpodcast • Email: support@onepercentheart.com</p><p><br></p><p>Disclaimer &amp; Trigger Warning: Nothing in this episode constitutes medical advice. These are personal experiences, opinions, and stories. This podcast contains honest discussions of medical trauma. Listener discretion is advised.</p><p><br></p><p>Keywords: congenital heart defect, pediatric neuropsychology, heart-brain connection, CHD parenting, neurodevelopmental outcomes, parent mental health, child development, CHD awareness, cardiac neurodevelopment</p>