Child Life Midterm
AAP -
American Academy of Pediatrics
AAP statement on childlife -
child life services should be considered an essential component of quality pediatric
health care and are integral to family-centered care and best-practice models of health care
delivery for children
who is a child life specialist -
professional who is specially trained to help children and their families understand
and manage challenging life events and stressful healthcare experiences
provide developmental, educational and therapeutic interventions for children and their
families under stress
support growth and development while recognizing family strengths and individuality and
respecting different methods of coping
what does a child life do -
non-medical preparations for tests, surgeries and other medical procedures
support
therapeutic medical play using dolls and medical equipment
developmental assessments
grief and bereavement support
sibling support
group and bedside activities
coordinating special events
where can child life work -
work with other members of health care
inpatient and outpatient units
emergency rooms and urgent care
surgery
camp
school
clinics
APIE -
Assessment, Planning, Intervention, and evaluation
Assessment -
establishing a trusting relationship
gathering information from the healthcare team, the family and child
observing the child and family
Planning -
looking at the health care variables, family variables and child variables, and
assigning a stress potential to the child can help in planning an intervention
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, Intervention -
the actual child life specific intervention, such as procedural support, medical play,
bereavement support, playroom activities, ect
Evaluation -
plan for the future
documentation-putting the intervention into objective terms to communicate the child life
intervention and set goals to the rest of the healthcare team
history of the child life council -
started in the 1920s-1930s at early hospital play programs
look at time line from video
1950s/1960s first CL programs
Emma- founder "play lady"
Mary brooks-philadelphia
Association for the Care of Children in Hospitals -1967
From there the Child Life Council was founded in 1982 to establish more guidelines for
professionalism and programming.
Today over 480+ Child Life programs and over 4,000 CCLS
psychosoical importance -
preparing children for hospitalizations, clinic visits, surgeries and diagnostic
procedures
help reduce emotional disturbances
understanding can be clarified
greater cooperation and success during the procedure
normalcy and play -
play where the child life story began and the essence has stayed the same since the
beginning
familiar and reassuring to children
"used" by children to reduce anxiety produced by stress
medical play or health care play allows children to cope with feelings and exert control over
their experiences
psychological preparation -
preparing children for hospitalizations, clinic visits, surgeries and diagnostic
procedures
reduce emotional disturbances
misconceptions can be corrected
reduce anxiety
child to plan and rehearse coping strategies
key elements of psychological preparation -
developmentally appropriate info
encouragement of questions and emotional expression
formation of a trusting relationship with a health care professional
family support -
2|Page
AAP -
American Academy of Pediatrics
AAP statement on childlife -
child life services should be considered an essential component of quality pediatric
health care and are integral to family-centered care and best-practice models of health care
delivery for children
who is a child life specialist -
professional who is specially trained to help children and their families understand
and manage challenging life events and stressful healthcare experiences
provide developmental, educational and therapeutic interventions for children and their
families under stress
support growth and development while recognizing family strengths and individuality and
respecting different methods of coping
what does a child life do -
non-medical preparations for tests, surgeries and other medical procedures
support
therapeutic medical play using dolls and medical equipment
developmental assessments
grief and bereavement support
sibling support
group and bedside activities
coordinating special events
where can child life work -
work with other members of health care
inpatient and outpatient units
emergency rooms and urgent care
surgery
camp
school
clinics
APIE -
Assessment, Planning, Intervention, and evaluation
Assessment -
establishing a trusting relationship
gathering information from the healthcare team, the family and child
observing the child and family
Planning -
looking at the health care variables, family variables and child variables, and
assigning a stress potential to the child can help in planning an intervention
1|Page
, Intervention -
the actual child life specific intervention, such as procedural support, medical play,
bereavement support, playroom activities, ect
Evaluation -
plan for the future
documentation-putting the intervention into objective terms to communicate the child life
intervention and set goals to the rest of the healthcare team
history of the child life council -
started in the 1920s-1930s at early hospital play programs
look at time line from video
1950s/1960s first CL programs
Emma- founder "play lady"
Mary brooks-philadelphia
Association for the Care of Children in Hospitals -1967
From there the Child Life Council was founded in 1982 to establish more guidelines for
professionalism and programming.
Today over 480+ Child Life programs and over 4,000 CCLS
psychosoical importance -
preparing children for hospitalizations, clinic visits, surgeries and diagnostic
procedures
help reduce emotional disturbances
understanding can be clarified
greater cooperation and success during the procedure
normalcy and play -
play where the child life story began and the essence has stayed the same since the
beginning
familiar and reassuring to children
"used" by children to reduce anxiety produced by stress
medical play or health care play allows children to cope with feelings and exert control over
their experiences
psychological preparation -
preparing children for hospitalizations, clinic visits, surgeries and diagnostic
procedures
reduce emotional disturbances
misconceptions can be corrected
reduce anxiety
child to plan and rehearse coping strategies
key elements of psychological preparation -
developmentally appropriate info
encouragement of questions and emotional expression
formation of a trusting relationship with a health care professional
family support -
2|Page
