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Training program to help preschoolers with heart disease improve thinking skills

Plain-English translation of NCT06267430 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ · Source last updated November 2024 · Translation generated June 2026 · How we translate trials

This study doesn't follow the usual testing phases — it may be an observational study or a different type of research.

What is this trial?

Children who survive severe congenital heart disease often experience challenges with executive functioning — the thinking skills that help us pay attention, remember things, control impulses, and manage emotions. This trial tests whether a personalized training program called KleuterExtra, combined with parent support materials, can help preschoolers strengthen these important skills during the critical window of early childhood when the brain is most flexible and responsive to learning.

As more children survive serious heart disease, doctors have noticed that many struggle with attention, behavior, and learning in school. Research suggests that the stress of heart disease and treatment can affect a child's brain development, and that early training during ages 2–6 may be able to improve these thinking skills before they become more difficult to change.

Do you qualify?

You likely qualify if…

your child is between 4 and 7 years old and still in early kindergarten
your child had major heart surgery in the first 6 months of life, or had cyanotic heart disease requiring surgery in the first year
your child has average or above-average intelligence (IQ above 55)
your child has been tested and shows below-average executive functioning skills (attention, memory, or self-control)
you and your child speak and understand Dutch well enough to participate in training and testing

You likely don't qualify if…

your child is already receiving specialized thinking or attention support at school
your child has severe intellectual disability or brain damage
your child has a genetic condition known to affect learning (such as Down syndrome)
your child has a severe psychiatric condition that needs treatment first, such as trauma-related stress, severe separation anxiety, or attachment problems

What participation looks like

If your child is in the training group, you will receive the personalized KleuterExtra program along with parent support books to guide learning activities at home. If your child is in the comparison group, you will receive the same parent support books but not the intensive training program. Either way, your child will be tested at the beginning to measure thinking skills, and the research team will track progress over time to see whether the training helps.

AI-generated summary from trial data · Jun 5, 2026 · Not medical advice

Training program to help preschoolers with heart disease improve thinking skills

What is this trial?

Do you qualify?

What participation looks like

Trial locations