This webinar will examine schools as an untapped employment environment for Certified Child Life Specialists. Child life interventions within a school setting will be explored in comparison to hospital interventions. This will hopefully show the need to advocate for child life outside of hospital walls, while also showing child life specialists that there are alternate work environments. Suggested Domain: Intervention 1.5 PDUs

Learn how Child Life and Art Therapy collaborated to create a digital art therapy program for patients. Hear the results and how this program could be implemented at other sites. In this hospital’s PED, number of psychiatric illness-related visits continues an upward trend. Youth with behavioral issues experience long waits before mental health evaluation and treatment placement. In collaboration with Child Life and Art Therapy, pediatric patients with psycho-emotional needs are offered digital art therapy as a nonthreatening format for emotion regulation, self-expression, increased communication and receptivity to treatment. A study was conducted with 100 patients diagnosed with mood disorders, self-harm and suicidal ideation. Patients, utilizing a secure laptop computer, expressed what their journey looks like. The multidisciplinary collaboration in this hospital’s PED resulted in an increase of services and patient-centered care for this difficult population. Use of digital art therapy and mood assessment gave Child Life and PED staff a better understanding of the patients’ journey and affect states. The program provides pediatric patients with coping skills to decrease their anxiety, encourage self-expression, and lower the need for chemical and medical restraints, resulting in reduced stress in the healthcare team and a more supportive care environment. Suggested Domain: Intervention

Child life specialists provide vital interventions inside and outside the trauma room. Presenters will discuss collaboration with multidisciplinary staff and how to build a strong presence in the trauma bay. Discussion will include: presence from arrival, interventions and support while in the emergency department, follow-up resources, and, when needed, bereavement. Suggested Domain: Intervention 1.5 PDUs

Research has shown that over 25% of pediatric patients have difficulties with pill swallowing. Anxiety surrounding pill swallowing can lead to lack of confidence, frustration and non-compliance with overall medical treatment. Behaviour modification-based programs allow patients to learn pill swallowing techniques through positive reinforcement, shaping and modeling. Suggested Domain: Intervention 1.0 PDU

This pop-up webinar is free for members and will provide an in-depth look at the entire process involved with piloting virtual sibling support with the sisters of BMT patients. In sharing research, a focus on evidence-based practice, and our experiential learning, the presenters hope to offer other professionals with motivation to facilitate sibling support groups, especially with a virtual approach. This webinar is free for members. Suggested Domain: Intervention

This webinar will examine many types and facets of grief in children and adolescents, and discuss coping skills and creative activities that help children explore and work through their grief. Support for the child life specialist working with grieving children will also be explored. Suggested Domain: Intervention 1.5 PDUs

Learn how health care institutions can leverage technology to improve patient experience and other important outcomes. Learn from a Child Life department that pioneered the effort to integrate technology as a complementary, non-pharmacological intervention throughout their hospital. Suggested Domain: Intervention ​Thank you to our generous sponsor of this webinar, Dunkin' Joy in Childhood Foundation​, for helping to provide this webinar programming for child life specialists.

Looking to start a reading program at your hospital but don’t know where to start? We can help. Join us to learn more about Storytime Snuggles, a multidisciplinary reading program launched in 2020. In this presentation we’ll highlight how we created Storytime Snuggles, key lessons and takeaways we learned through the process, as well as our suggestions and advice for building a reading program at your hospital. Suggested Domain: Intervention 1.0 PDU

Child Life Specialists are often called on to guide families through the memory making process at end of life. However, patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are typically hospitalized for quite some time and end of life care often begins prior to the initiation of memory making opportunities. Following the principles of developmental end of life comfort care, Child Life Specialists can collaborate with the interdisciplinary team to enhance and celebrate little lives for whatever time they have left. Through careful planning with patient families and unit education, this Child Life Specialist works to create carefully curated environments for her patients to thrive as they approach end of life while creating beautiful memories for the patient and family alike. Suggested Domain: Intervention 1.0 PDU

We will identify the importance of including children at end-of-life in multiple settings based on current research and understanding of developmental stages, as well as an awareness of the common myths surrounding children and death. We will then discuss 3 case studies involving children's presence at end-of-life in 3 different settings. We will address ways to advocate for families with the multidisciplinary team. Suggested Domain: Intervention 1.0 PDU