Neurodiversity in Child Life: Expanding Inclusive, Individualized Approaches - 2026 LIGHTNING PASS

This session explores how systemic and interpersonal barriers impact neurodiverse individuals in healthcare. It highlights Child Life Specialists’ use of adaptive strategies to promote emotional safety and individualized care, while emphasizing peer-led efforts and advocating for educational reforms to better support neurodiverse populations in Child Life practice.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize systemic and interpersonal barriers that individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) face in healthcare settings and analyze their impact on psychosocial development and well-being.
• Apply inclusive Child Life interventions: adaptive preparation, sensory-informed strategies, and communication tools to support coping, autonomy, and emotional safety for neurodiverse patients.
• Describe the impact of peer-led Child Life initiatives that address gaps in professional education by offering mentorship, shared learning, and collaborative support for working with neurodiverse populations to meet unmet healthcare needs.
• Critically assess the limitations of existing Child Life education in preparing professionals to work with neurodiverse populations and explore how Child Life leaders can contribute to curriculum reform and lifelong learning models.

Suggested Domain:  DEI

Credits: 1.5

Speakers

Alanna Kanawalksy, CCLS, MS - UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Kerri Birkett, MS, CCLS - Empowered Pathways, LLC

Emily Minges, CCLS - Intermountain Health

Please note: All webinar content and its certificate will expire on June 9, 2029, regardless of when it is purchased, accessed, or completed. At that point, the contents will no longer be available in any form, including as an archive or as a PDU certificate. It is the responsibility of the learner to complete the contents and download and save the certificate for their records prior to June 9, 2029.