Nursing care of children with developmental disabilities having surgery

Children with developmental disabilities (CWDD) who undergo surgery have special needs. The nurse is required to make accurate assessments of the intellectual, psychosocial, and physical state of the child as well as the emotional functioning of the family. The nurse must be aware of the legal implications and his/her own attitudes regarding CWDD. Parents must be accepted as partners with the health care team and open communication should be established. Special concerns for the health care team are latex allergy and malignant hyperthermia. Nursing Care Plans specific to the child with pain, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, myopathy, Down syndrome, myelomeningocele, and cerebral palsy are provided. The material presented here should serve as a basis for nurses to deliver family-centered compassionate care to children and their families who are living with the burdens and enduring the hardships brought about by developmental disabilities.