• A Child Life Specialist is a professional who is specially trained to help children and their families understand and manage challenging life events and stressful healthcare experiences (childlife).

• Focus on the emotional and developmental needs of the child or teen– Specialist in typical development

• Therapeutic Play– Developmentally appropriate

explanations– Medical interpreter

• Provide procedural preparation– Emotional coping w/ hospital experience– Psychosocial needs

• Describe what the patient will experience (see, smell, hear, taste, feel, general time frame things will take place)

• Talk with siblings and family to sensitize the situation

• Work of Childhood

• Children learn through play what others cannot teach them

• Intellectually stimulates the child

• Provides feedback

• Means of physical activity and education

• Many children have misconceptions about procedures

• Purpose is to soothe the child’s anxiety

• Use a doll as a “Patient”

• Use of play to distract the child from a procedure

• Different for children depending upon age

• Minimum 10 Child Dev. Courses/ Family Life

• Minimum Bachelor’s Degree– Masters degree required by 2022

• Minimum 1 course taught by CCLS

• Internship requirement– -Practicum preferred, not yet required

• Volunteer work:– Hospital with Child Life Dept. (100 hours)– Grief and Loss Center

• Death and Dying/ Grief and Loss

• Certification Test

• Optional:– Foreign language– Medical terminology

• The more experience you can get, the better off you will be

Canvas Art Expression Project

• Fifteen (15) patients and siblings participated in a project designed to encourage grief and therapeutic relief through art

• 3 weeks to collect portraits• Final product was an art collage

displayed of the artists’ work

Sources• (2014). What is a Child Life Specialist? Child Life Council. Retrieved

on December 4, 2014. http://www.childlife.org/The%20Child%20Life%20Profession/

• (2014). Advanced Degree Requirement Overview. Child Life Council. Retrieved on December 1, 2014. http://www.childlife.org/Certification/AdvancedDegree2022/index.cfm

Thomas, C. C., Thompson, R. (2009). The Handbook of Child Life: A Guide for Pediatric Psychosocial Care. Pp. 143-145, 160-172. Charles C. Thomas Publisher, LTD: Springfield, Illinois

• Interview with Brickner, T. October 5, 2011.