Heidi M. Feldman

Clinical Focus

• General Pediatrics
• Neonatology

Administrative Appointments

• Medical Director, Development and Behavior Unit, LPCH (2006 - present)

Honors and Awards

• Ballinger-Swindells Endowed Professorship in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine (2006 - present)
• Academy of Master Educators, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (2006)
• Outstanding Alumna, University of California San Diego (2003)
• Ronald L and Patricia M Violi Professor of Pediatrics and Child Development, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh (2001-2006)
• Excellence in Education Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (2000)

Professional Education

• Board Certification: Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics (2002)
• Board Certification: General Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics (1985)
• Fellowship: Children's Hospital of Boston, MA (1984)
• Fellowship: Children's Hospital of Boston, MA (1983)
• Residency: Univ Of California, San Diego, CA (1982)

Postdoctoral Advisees

Brian Tang

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Pediatrics

Web Site Links

• Developmental Medicine at Stanford

Research Interests

I am a developmental-behavioral pediatrician. My research interests focus on child language. Language development in young children is central to the acquisition of information and to the development of learning abilities and social skills. A variety of clinical conditions put language learning at risk.

Chronic otitis media is associated with conductive hearing loss that may alter access to the verbal environment.
I was part of a team that investigated the long-term developmental consequences of otitis media with effusion. This research has documented that early placement of tympanostomy tubes restores normal hearing but does not confer any developmental advantages over watchful waiting in children with chronic middle ear effusions. Because the design of the study was a randomized clinical trial, the strong implication is that middle ear effusion does not cause developmental compromise in speech, language, cognition, or reading. The results have major clinical significance and have been cited in the revisions of practice guidelines for management of otitis media with effusion.

Early focal injuries to the left hemisphere damage what have been considered classic language areas of the brain. Children with such injuries learn to understand and speak competently during the preschool years, though some show mild to moderate developmental delays. Differences between children with left and right hemisphere damage are minimal. Children with focal injuries continue to perform below the level of their age-matched peers into school age, though both groups show improvements in performance at least through at 12 years. Functional magnetic resonance imaging document increased right hemisphere activation during language processing after focal left hemisphere injury. These studies provide an insight into the mechanisms of plasticity in the neural systems of language development. My current research focuses on language and cognition after prematurity. A...

Publications

• Academic and educational outcomes of children with ADHD. Loe IM, Feldman HM "Ambul Pediatr" 2007 Jan-Feb ; 1 Suppl (7) : 82-90
• Academic and educational outcomes of children with ADHD. Loe IM, Feldman HM "J Pediatr Psychol" 2007 ; 6 (32) : 643-54
• Using the language characteristics of clinical populations to understand normal language development. Feldman HM, "Pediatr Clin North Am" 2007 ; 3 (54) : 585-607, viii
• Tympanostomy tubes and developmental outcomes at 9 to 11 years of age. Paradise JL, Feldman HM, Campbell TF, Dollaghan CA, Rockette HE, Pitcairn DL, Smith CG, Colborn DK, Bernard BS, Kurs-Lasky M, Janosky JE, Sabo DL, O'Connor RE, Pelham WE "N Engl J Med" 2007 ; 3 (356) : 248-61
• Commentary on Hooper et al. Feldman HM, Paradise JL "J Dev Behav Pediatr" 2006 ; 4 (27) : 336-7