As a consequence of the opioid crisis, the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) has continued to rise. Recent research has highlighted the importance of supportive, non-pharmacological care, ideally provided through rooming-in of the family, as the first line of treatment for all infants with in utero opioid exposure and NAS. This presentation will offer insight from one hospital’s experience in caring for mother and baby together, using a trauma-informed approach and evidence-based strategies, and the child life role in this collaborative care model. The goals and outcomes of this quality improvement initiative will be shared, including data on reducing length of stay and need for medication and improving patient experience.

Not so far in the future, in lieu of popping a pill, clinicians might prescribe a virtual beach vacation to ease aches and pains. Cardiologists might offer scenic tours of Icelandic fjords to lower blood pressure, instead of doubling up on drugs. Hospitals might immerse children in fantastical play lands while they receive chemotherapy or undergo frightening medical tests. It’s all starting to happen now because of virtual reality (VR). For decades, scientists in elite universities have been quietly discovering the surprising health benefits of VR for ailments ranging from burn injuries, to stroke, to acute stress. Over 3000 studies reveal that VR has an uncanny ability to block pain, calm nerves and boost mental health without drugs and their unwanted side effects. But the technology has been too expensive, unreliable and unwieldy for the research to translate beyond the pages of academic journals and doctoral dissertations… until now. Explosive advances in delivering low-cost, portable and high-quality VR to the masses has spawned a field called Medical VR. In this lecture, Dr. Spiegel will describe frontline stories of using VR in over 3000 patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and will review his lab’s latest clinical research, including a recent randomized controlled trial testing VR in the hospital setting. The lecture will also review their new research using VR for blood pressure management, opioid reduction, and pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai. Two lucky registrants of this webinar will win free conference registrations to the 2019 Conference on Virtual Medicine. To learn more about this conference, please visit https://www.virtualmedicine.health/

When a child is hospitalized due to illness or injury the entire family is affected. As a quality of family-centered care, Child Life specialist aim to promote positive coping and decreased anxiety in patients and their families. Unfortunately, due to lack of Child Life positions and funding, pediatric hospitals are not adequately staffed to provide services to all patients and families.

The cloth doll is an important tool in child life interventions for patients of all ages and cultures. Beyond the traditional uses of the cloth doll for preparation and medical play, through creative adaptations the therapeutic benefits of cloth dolls can be extended for wider clinical use with teen patients.

Transition is defined as a passage from one stage to another (Merriam-Webster, 2018). Within pediatric health care the word transition is most often used when referring to the transition from pediatric to adult health care. While the transition to adult health care is a significant event for many patients with chronic illnesses, there are many other life transitions that are potentially stressful and offer opportunities for child life specialists to provide support. Some of these other transitions include the transition between medical teams, to foster care, palliative and/or hospice care, and end of life. Child life specialists, especially those who work with patients with chronic illnesses, are often in the position to provide support during these transitions. It is important for child life specialists to be aware of the various transitions that patients may be experiencing, as this is an opportunity to provide individualized care to promote positive adjustment.

Supporting teens and their families when a parent has a serious or terminal illness requires specific knowledge and skills. Current research will be highlighted with focus given to the distinctive characteristics of the teenage brain, including what teens need and want related to support during a parental illness, anticipated death, or sudden unexpected loss. Specific communication techniques for professionals to use with teens and to coach parents to use with their teen will be provided. In addition, time will be spent on helpful activities that engage teens and allow them to express feelings, strengthen positive coping skills and work through challenges of bereavement.

Grief, competency, and school collaboration are all common themes in child life; however, the connection between these areas is often underexplored. Shedding light on the significance of the relationship between these topics, this presentation will provide insight into grief work as it relates to child life practice and school partnerships. This webinar will highlight three areas—theory, intervention, and advocacy—to build upon our competence surrounding grief, and explore new avenues to empower patients, families, and school staff regarding death and the grieving process. Participants will acquire new insights to move from knowledge to application, gaining tools to enhance collaboration with school systems and advance both their school reintegration and child life practice.

​Experiencing stressful and potentially traumatic medical events can cause feelings of isolation and fear for every member of a family including patients, siblings, and caregivers. Group interventions, such as facilitated support groups, can be extremely beneficial in normalizing medical experiences by providing a safe space for pediatric patients and their families to express their emotions and relate to others.

Child life specialists use their knowledge of human development, medical understanding, skills in validation, and creativity to assist in increasing the child’s understanding of death and providing memory making opportunities in the hospital setting.

Engaging in difficult conversations is not solely about having the “right” words; it’s about how compassion, perspective, and words work together to create meaningful conversations. This webinar will focus on empowering professionals to feel equipped when navigating sensitive discussions with families at end of life. Through case examples and personal experiences from bereaved parents, effective child life and communication strategies will be explored.

Read this Focus article and earn .5 PDUs. This is a free resource for members and $15 for non-members. Once you've read the article, you will need to complete your quiz in order to access the certificate of completion through the professional development platform. Participants should maintain a copy of their certificate of attendance for their records.

Read this Focus article and earn .5 PDUs. This is a free resource for members and $15 for non-members. Once you've read the article, you will need to complete your quiz in order to access the certificate of completion through the professional development platform. Participants should maintain a copy of their certificate of attendance for their records.

This presentation will review how organizationwide change is possible for needle procedures. Discover how one large free-standing children’s hospital is reducing needle pain for patients. Participants will explore how to engage staff and apply practical resources to hospitals and programs of all sizes.

A program was devised to provide children with stress reduction tools for managing the stress of an unplanned emergent situation. Pre-assembled kits, color-coded for age and gender, were created containing therapeutic items for relaxation, distraction, and tools for managing stress.

The need for alternative and non-traditional placements for child life specialists in the community has increased as the profession of hild life has diversified. This session will explore complementary settings for child life work in schools and communities in support of children’s psychosocial, physical and behavioral health needs.

Teens and young adults undergoing complicated surgical procedures often experience anxiety and psychosocial concerns that impact their pre- and post-surgery adjustment. Offering formal education and support to patients and families undergoing procedures often results in an increased ability to cope with the surgical process and improved outcomes. The creation of a multidisciplinary preparation course for teenagers undergoing orthognathic surgery has created positive post-surgical outcomes in the eyes of the teenager, parent and physicians.

Children with special needs benefit from the creative and family-centered support of child life specialists and music therapists. Learn the most up to date diagnostic information for those with developmental disabilities and how music can be used to address physical, emotional, and cognitive needs as part of a holistic, family-centered model of care.

Stir your imagination and be inspired. Come listen and learn during these three, 30-minute presentations.

Intensive preparation strategies can be utilized to overcome barriers to successful healthcare encounters for patients with unique learning styles and traumatic past healthcare experiences. When traditional preparation trategies aren’t enough, tailored preparation can equip patients with the information and coping skills needed to successfully master a challenging healthcare experience.

​Many camp programs are facilitated in community settings, but we will explore the creative process for developing a camp program within the hospital environment. Activity programming is crucial when helping patients cope with hospitalization and we will provide attendees with the necessary tools to implement camp programming within their own facility.

This presentation will explore the value of working with children to assess their emotional development. It will emphasize how one can better support children in identifying and expressing their feelings. Participants will be inspired with research, case studies, and interventions aimed at promoting emotional literacy associated with healthcare experiences.

Patients and families with unique conditions will continue to pursue care at established, geographically-dispersed, centers of excellence. From strategies for collaboration with the medical team to the delivery of therapeutic interventions, child life specialists have many opportunities to provide services that support the distinctive needs of subspecialty populations.

​The Voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG) is aninvasive and stressful procedure for patients and families. This presentation will highlight techniques utilized when integrating nitrousoxide administration during a VCUG. Two child life specialists and a physician will share how this program decreased anxiety and stress while increasing patient compliance.

Popular culture and media can have a powerful impact on the ways in which child life specialists approach emotional identification and regulation interventions. Child life specialists should be aware of the opportunities that certain media offers for exploring abstract emotions with concrete thinkers.

This presentation will examine a multidisciplinary approach to caring for families being discharged from hospital post stillbirth, miscarriage, infant or child death, apprehension by child protective services, or adoption. Pediatric child life specialist and social worker have developed a new concept in how to collaboratively care for and support these families. This idea and its inception will be explored while also touching on what to be mindful of while working with this patient population.

​Child life specialists may be challenged in planning therapeutic interventions to adequately meet the developmental needs of adolescent patients. Adolescent patient’s have a need for social comparison information and identity formation. This workshop will provide practical ideas for incorporating bibliotherapy and narrative medicine into practice to bridge this gap.

The amount of limited English proficient (LEP) patients and families present in hospitals continues to grow. In this presentation, attendees will learn about the role and characteristics of a medical interpreter. The presentation will focus on the collaboration between child life specialists and medical interpreters and how to enhance meaningful interactions with LEP children and caregivers in the hospital setting.

Patients with behavioral health needs are presenting more frequently and spending a greater amount of time within non-psychiatric health care facilities while awaiting appropriate placement or safe discharge. Child life specialists work within safety guidelines established by this hospital and in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team to support these patients’ unique needs and promote optimal coping.

Children learn through sensory experiences. The medical environment is full of sensory experiences, but most are not pleasant. Child life must provide pleasant sensory experiences for children in the medical setting. The challenge comes in providing sensory experiences while navigating obstacles such as small spaces and sensory overload. This presentation will identify ways sensory play can support a child’s learning, ways children seek and process sensory information, and how to incorporate sensory play into interventions.

At a comprehensive cancer center, the child life program partners with an education non-profit to provide a writer-in-residence to support the unique needs of emerging adults, ages 18-25 years. Participants will learn about the rationale, development and processes for the program. Diverse, tailored writing experiences and legacy pieces will be presented. The observed benefits to the patient participants and others will be highlighted.

This presentation will provide insight on how a chronic illness diagnosis impacts the entire family. Attendees will discover how this institution provides a specialized program which follows families through the critical first year of care in and out of the medical setting. Components of this program can be adapted into various child life environments; offering strategies and resources that can assist families in developing their “new normal” way of living

The design of child and family programs offered in pediatric settings are often focused on the child, family and heath variables. In one pediatric hospital a steering committee involving patients and families was developed. Their feedback highlighted the need for a wide range of programming not currently available in this setting. This has resulted in community outreach to develop partnerships focusing on enhancing the quality of patient and family experiences.

Propofol is a safe and widely used anesthetic. However, pain experienced during injection of propofol is very common with 85% of children reporting the association. This presentation will discuss research processes and results in a pediatric sedation unit as well as coping strategies used during propofol inductions and other invasive procedures.

This presentation discusses strategies for supporting families that utilize competing coping efforts in response to stressors. Whether attempting to cope with new diagnoses or end-of-life, stress is a shared experience. With limited space and time to process at an individual level, patients and families may respond with clashing coping behaviors. This session explores the specialist’s role in supporting multiple coping strategies, and provides an effective tool for navigating these experiences.

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention program, aimed at minimizing the stress experienced by patients with autism spectrum disorder, their parents, and the perioperative nurses who directly care for these patients in the outpatient surgery unit. The intervention program was shown to be effective at lowering the stress levels for patients ages 6–12 years old and parents of patients ages 2–5 years old.

Over 9 million children were affected by the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa; the consequences of this community-wide trauma are far-reaching and long lasting. Utilizing a trauma-informed approach, this non-profit organization build a community based psychosocial support program to address unmet needs of children in Liberia during and after the outbreak. This presentation explores the provision of culturally appropriate play, art, movement, and child life techniques to encourage expression, promote healing, and build resiliency.

Mental health is a growing area for many health care professionals; especially for child life who traditionally has focused primarily on medical experiences and interventions. Implementation of child life programming on a mental health and addictions inpatient unit has resulted in greater independence, reduced stress, increased socialization, and has improved the hospital experience for patients and their families through therapeutic and expressive activities.

Providing comprehensive care in the NICU is vital to the growth and development of infants. Collaboration between nursing and child life can help improve the care for both the infant and family. At the end of this session, participants can expect to: 1. Describe the role of a child life specialist in the NICU 2. Describe collaboration between medical and psychosocial staff 3. Identify successes, barriers and next steps

Details of a completed research study will be shared that investigated the factors related to family members’ presence and satisfaction during fracture reductions in a pediatric emergency department. Results, conclusions, and implications for practice will be discussed, including the role of the CCLS in family presence and family-centered care and collaboration with ED providers, ED nurses, and orthopedic residents and providers in creating a culture of family centered care and family presence during procedures.

Clinicians from a children’s hospital noticed a gap in developmentally appropriate resources for patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). To improve education, clinicians created a story about a cystic fibrosis patient admitted to the hospital. This presentation reviews literature related to diagnosis specific education and bibliotherapy, discusses the publication process, and highlights outcomes, which demonstrate bibliotherapy as an effective method for supporting and educating patients and families with cystic fibrosis.

How might integrative child life and creative arts therapy practices function within interdisciplinary care communities to best support the psychosocial vulnerability in siblings of patients facing heart transplant or other serious illness, hospitalization and bereavement? This presentation explores the art-and play-based clinical approaches behind “Bridging Interventions” to support family-and-sibling-centered care in pediatric critical care settings.

This research study explored current policies and practices about children’s use of transitional objects in healthcare settings. Results provide insight about ways child life specialists are supporting children’s use of transitional objects, thereby decreasing anxiety and stress and increasing healthy coping. Recommendations for future policies and practices are offered to support children’s use of transitional objects while in isolation.

A recent survey of child life specialists revealed that 100 % use tablets in the workplace, yet less than half use them for therapeutic interventions or legacy building. This session will explore the benefits of digital art and will provide attendees the opportunity to practice using applications that can prove beneficial when working with patients and families.

When treating eating disorders, a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach is preferred by many venues. Attendees will gain insight into the overall treatment of eating disorders and specifics of a pediatric inpatient re-feeding protocol. In addition,the role child life specialists, music therapists and art therapists can play, in conjunction with the medical staff, for comprehensive care will be explored.

A panel of child life specialists will present the findings from their research projects. Research topics that will be discussed include comfort positioning, nurse and parent perceptions of a child’s pain and distress during IV starts, the relationship between mothers’ coping and children’s anxiety, and the effects of play and video on procedural behavior. Panelists will offer insight and suggestions on how to successfully complete a research project.

Comfort positions are recognized by child life professionals as an effective, low cost, and quick intervention for reducing stress during medical interventions for children and teens (Stephen, 1999). Despite research demonstrating these benefits, comfort positions can be misunderstood and underutilized by the medical community. Attendees will gain insight into how to implement comfort positioning into various medical settings.

A study demonstrating the effectiveness of tablet distraction provided by a child life specialist on pain and distress in pediatric burn patients undergoing hydrotherapy will be presented. The study was a product of a collaboration between child life specialists, a nurse, and a professor. Attendees will gain insight into the design, implementation, and implications of this study and collaboration.

The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is on the rise. Consequently Emergency Departments (ED) are treating more patients with ASD. These patients are especially vulnerable to the overwhelming stress associated with an ED visit. The current standard of care is not adequate for these patients, resulting in unwanted outcomes. A patient care program has been created to better serve patients with ASD or similar conditions in a pediatric ED.

Children transitioning from the hospital to foster care can be an extremely vulnerable population who experience a variety of difficult emotions. A therapeutic intervention has been created to assist in applying the foundational child life skills to facilitate understanding and positive coping during this traumatic transition.

Online patient communities for youth with chronic illnesses are a fast growing option for accessing social support and health information easily. Research suggests that participation in an online patient communities can have both psychosocial and physical health benefits.  A review of the most recent trends in the literature chronicling pediatric online patient communities provides skills in evaluating and curating based on patient needs.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) visit healthcare providers more frequently than typically developing children. The process of having surgery can be chaotic, confusing, loud, and full of transitions, which are all potential stress triggers for children with ASD. A program designed to fit the unique needs of these patients can help increase patients’ understanding of hospitalization, decrease stress, encourage positive coping techniques, and create a more family-centered care environment.

Research shows that children facing medical procedures experience less anxiety and increased cooperation when given the opportunity to participate in medical play. Learn how to share the importance of this task with medical staff, and how the basics of medical play can be expanded upon to bring support to children both in and out of the hospital setting.

Children impacted by death will likely experience intense grief and mourning. Child life specialists are able to assist children, families, and the community throughout the bereavement process. A review of death disclosure strategies, and tools to extend child life services in bereavement support in the pediatric hospital, adult hospital, and the school setting.

Radiation therapy can be an overwhelming experience for pediatric patients and families. This presentation will validate child life services in pediatric radiation oncology and will offer valuable tools to support pediatric patients receiving radiation therapy. Case study examples will highlight challenges and successes of children’s experiences throughout the treatment process.

Adolescent athletes have a distinct set of stressors when it comes to injuries, chronic illnesses, and pain perception. Child life specialists team up with patients to aid recovery in the medical setting, utilizing unique skills learned from athletics to drive athletes’ optimal coping.

While pre-operative classes for adults undergoing surgery is becoming a widespread norm in the healthcare setting, this is not necessarily the case for the pediatric patient population. Research design and implementation of an interdisciplinary staff-led approach to pre-operative education, includes lliterature review, IRB application, consent process, survey design, staff involvement, current class model, class impact, and future growth/research.

This presentation explores innovative work in child life practice involving collaboration with music therapy to minimize distress and promote empowerment in the emergency department setting. Attendees will gain insight into a research study investigating the efficacy of a co-treatment preparation and procedural support model that addressed pain and anxiety in school-age patients receiving intravenous (IV) placement.

​Participants will be introduced to the servant leadership model, instructed on the key characteristics of servant leaders, and learn about how it has been successfully integrated into one academic institution’s child life curriculum. Participants will then have opportunity to reflect upon their own servant leaderships skills and brainstorm in groups methods of integrating these ethical principles into their own clinical practice.

Photography is often a key part of celebrating milestones, documenting and celebrating various aspects in the journey of life. As child life specialists, we employ various strategies, techniques and modalities in our work with patients and families. This presentation outlines an integrative health photography program facilitated by Certified Child Life Specialists that incorporates photography into the daily life of a hospitalized child.

In this presentation five different memory making techniques will be discussed, including pros and cons to each and ways they have been improved. Participants will leave feeling more confident in their ability to utilize memory making techniques with grieving families.

This hospital developed a program for the first sponsored Cystic Fibrosis (CF) oral drug trial with 2-5 year old patients with an extensive research protocol. In response to the challenging protocol and young age group, the CF research team integrated child life services for study visits. This multi-disciplinary team developed materials to support learning and reduce anxiety for children. This relationship was integral to successfully enroll and retain subjects in a complicated trial.

A small weekend camp for families who recently lost a child due to a cancer diagnosis includes traditional camp activities as well as therapeutic elements. An interdisciplinary team collaborates to develop intentional programming to guide individualized efforts in supporting these grieving families.

Meeting the preparatory needs of children with diverse developmental profiles poses challenges for child life specialists. Limits of language, comprehension, and sensory-focused needs may limit the appropriateness of using traditional prep books to prepare patients for a procedure or admission. After learning how one hospital uses social narratives, participants will design and create their own narrative, and leave with tools to launch a library for their institution.

Get a front row seat for our 2018 Child Life conference sessions. This package offers the opportunity to earn 60+ PDU Credit with our 2018 conference recordings! Over 50 sessions - Over 60 hours!

This presentation describes a hospital program that creates an opportunity for pediatric patients and their families to receive consistent emotional support during extended or recurring hospitalization. The program introduces a qualified, trained, and committed college student volunteer base to provide fun, friendship, and support to children and their families.

The Child Life and Anesthesia departments at this hospital collaborated to develop and evaluate a new mobile application, that offers preoperative psychological preparation through virtual reality (VR). The authors demonstrated that VR is a valid and acceptable form of preparing children for the operating room experience. Participants are invited to download the app for use in their clinical tool kit.

Child life specialists are champions for family-centered care and advocate for family involvement throughout admissions. Due to advancements in technology, advocating for family presence and engatement at bedside is made possible even if families are not able to be physically present. Attendees will gain insight into the use of telemedicine and its ability to increase family presence during extended hospitalization.

This panel presentation will explore pathways through which child life specialists have engaged in the rapidly growing practice of simulation. Panelists will describe frameworks for developing simulation-based programs for both patient preparation and interprofessional team training. Through discussion and small group work, participants will apply these frameworks to their own practice and plan simulation programming for implementation in clinical and educational environments.

This panel will examine differing facility dog program structures among hospitals. Presenters will share the unique values, individual challenges and noteworthy successes in their respective programs. Presenters will demonstrate the myriad of ways that facility dog programming has cultivated multidisciplinary collaboration, improved measurable outcomes and provided quality psychosocial support for patients, families and staff. Presenters will demonstrate examples of how facility dogs are utilized using live demonstrations and videos.

A quality improvement initiative in a large primary care network was created to help improve the safety and outcomes for identified patients and their families. This presentation will describe how a child life specialist was integrated into the initiative, resource development and program impact.

The present study utilizes a phenomenological approach to explore the meaning of the lived social experience for adolescent cancer survivors (ACS) attending a week-long summer oncology camp. This presentation will discuss the experiences of 16 ACS campers, who were interviewed about their social experiences and reasons why they attend an oncology camp, as well as the presenter’s experience as a researcher and observatory participant at camp.

Cast correction for progressive infantile scoliosis is a non-surgical procedure that requires repeated intubation, spinal manipulation and cast application. This writer will discuss an initiative to eliminate frequent general anesthesia by assessing and preparing a patient to remain awake during this procedure, including facilitating parental support in the operating room. Video commentary from the surgeon, anesthesiologist and families will give insight into this complicated process and challenges will be discussed.

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a drug withdrawal syndrome that occurs when an infant has prenatal exposure to certain drugs or medications. This presentation offers insight into an NAS support program at an urban hospital, and discusses symptoms and treatments of NAS, as well as interventions that promote positive coping for patients and families and that have been shown to decrease the length of treatment.

This presentation will analyze the obstacles a medical unit met when working with the mental health population, including patient interventions and staff self-care. The presenters will discuss multidisciplianary collaboration and adapting services to better support this patient population as well as the medical team.

A child’s first impression of a healthcare setting sets the stage for how the rest of their experience will unfold. A health care environment that promotes positivity and playfulness through use of color, art, murals and play equipment, provides a sense of familiarity and can promote the healing process. Attendees will gain insight into a collaborative and innovative approach to creating custom environments designed just for children.

“I’m fine.” “I don’t want to talk about it.” Silence. These are the responses child life specialists may hear when working with hospitalized adolescents. In this presentation, attendees will gain knowledge about the benefits of self-expressive interventions for adolescents based on current research. Through discussion and hands-on opportunities, participants will learn a variety of interventions to incorporate into clinical practice.

Based on three years of program expansion in the NICU and family birth center, this workshop will equip participants with tools to enhance patient experience and implement innovative clinical interventions. The presentation will address acquisition of funds for program development, staff education, and implementation of strategies to improve patient experience and staff engagement. Participants will engage in a hands-on activity to explore an intervention for application within their program.

Medical play is considered to be a core component of child life programming and is frequently utilized to aid in providing preparation for medical experiences. Medical play also incorporates a variety of additional modalities such as medical art, role rehearsal/role reversal and needle play. This presentation will explore all aspects of medical play with an emphasis on the lesser implemented types of medical play.