Child Life Specialist Certification
Exam Prep-Graded A
Emma Plank - ANS--Established "Child Life" and Education department at Cleveland
Metropolitan hospital.
- 1962 published "Working with Children in Hospitals."
*Notes individual differences of children's responses
to illness and stress (assessment)
* Truth Telling
(Child Life Handbook pg 10-13)
Nature Vs. Nurture - ANS-- Genetic Inheritance (nature) vs. Environmental factors
(nurture)
Nature: Focus on genetic, hormonal explanations for
behavior
Nurture: All behavior is learned from the
environment through conditioning.
Child Life Mission - ANS--Striving to reduce the negative impact of stressful or traumatic
life events and situations that affect the development, health, and well being of infants,
children, youth, and families.
-We also embrace the value of play as a healing modality as we work to enhance their
optimal growth and development through assessment, intervention, prevention,
advocacy, and education.
Child Life Values - ANS-Child Life Professionals value:
Infants, Children, Youth, and families
Play- Play facilitates healing, coping, mastery, self-
expression, creativity, achievement and learning, and
is vital to a child's optimal growth and development.
Therapeutic Relationships- Contribute to the
development of confidence, resilience, and problem-
solving skills that enable individuals and families to
deal effectively with challenges to development,
health, and well-being.
Communication
,Theoretical foundation of practice- Knowledge and
application of our foundations in theories of
development, play, stress, and coping, and family
systems are the basis of our professional practices.
Professional collaboration
Professional standards of practice- The commitment
to excellence and integrity through learning,
adherence to our code of ethics, and the development
and support of educational training programs based
upon defined clinical competencies.
Research
Bolig's types of Child Life Programs: (The Child Life Handbook pg 70) - ANS-Rosemary
Bolig listed five basic approaches to Child Life programming including...
A) Diversion
B) Activity/Recreation
C) Child Development
D) Therapeutic
E) Comprehensive
Stuart & Sundeen- Stages of Therapeutic Relationship: (Child Life Handbook, pg 64) -
ANS-1) Initiation/orientation phase- Establish trust, purpose & decide on plans/goals.
2) Working phase- works towards achieving goals.
3) Termination phase- End of relationship or closure.
Dana Prugh: - ANS-Created the 1st experimental designer research study to prove
adverse psychological upset resulting from hospitalization could be changed by
unlimited parental visitation, preparation, & play.
Considerations of Child Life Programming: (Guidelines for Development of Child Life
Programming pg 17) - ANS-- Establishing relationships and maintaining continuity of
care.
- Assessing children & families' potential vulnerability and
prioritizing care accordingly.
- Supporting and enhancing normal development through
play.
- Maintaining welcoming, safe play areas
- Assessing likely stress points and providing psychological
preparation
- Communicating with other members of the healthcare
team
,Characteristics of play, Play is: (Psychosocial care of children, pg 67) - ANS-
Interactions and activities that:
- Are pleasurable/enjoyable
- Involve extrinsic & intrinsic motivation
- Are spontaneous and/voluntary
- Involve active engagement either direct or
- vicarious on the part of the player
- Is a form of universal communication
Functions of Play: (Meeting Children's Psycho-social Needs, pg 83) - ANS-Play
provides a context for children to practice newly acquired skills and also function on the
edge of their developing capacities to take on new social roles, attempt novel or
challenging tasks, and to solve complex problems that they would not, could not
otherwise do.
Variables affecting hospitalized children and their play: (Meeting children's Psycho-
social Needs) - ANS-A) The play environment
B) Parental contact
C) Age
D) Length of hospitalization
E) Types of Illness
F) Gender
Normalization: (Meeting Children's Psycho-social needs, pg 181-182) - ANS-Is
Important for child's optimal development and encourage family stability
A Child Life Specialist would use normalization by:
A) Applying the same rules for special needs child as for other children in family
B) Encourage self-care
C) Intra-family communication
D) Empathize with child's abilities
E) Allow child to make decisions
Stress and Coping theory (Lazarus & Folkman): (Meeting Children's Psychosocial
Needs, Pg 184-185) - ANS-Potential stressors for families and children:
A) Aspects of illness
B) Role strain
C) Role confusion
D) Financial stressors
E) Time constraints
F) Energy demands
G) Psycho-social stressors
H) Sustained uncertainty.
Families should focus on resilience and coping
, Three theoretical models are considered when researching impact on a child's behavior
& emotions:
A) Discrete disease
B) Non-categorical
C) Mixed Models
Assimilation: (Handbook of Child Life, Pg 26) - ANS-The process where children take
new information and transform it into their way of thinking
Accommodation: (Handbook of Child Life, pg 26) - ANS-The process of taking new
information and adapting it or organizing it differently than your usual way of thinking
Equilibrium: (The Handbook of Child Life, Pg 26) - ANS-- Part of Piaget's theory of
cognitive development
equilibrium results after a child takes in some
information and undergoes accommodation to
incorporate this new information by adapting his or her
way of thinking.
- Achievement of equilibrium indicates some learning has
taken place
Scaffolding: (Child Life Handbook, Pg 27) - ANS-- The use of appropriate guidance
techniques that allow for
the presentation of enough challenge to advance the child
to the next level
- Adapt characteristics of the environment to promote
learning or information processing
- Inclusion of carefully presented information, open-ended
questions, & introduction to healthcare materials
Zone of Proximal development: (Handbook of Child Life, pg 27, 142) - ANS-Vygotsky's
term for the difference between a child's actual developmental level when acting
independently (without help) and the potential level a child may reach when guided (with
help)
Within this Zone, a child's potential is strongest
Egocentrism: (SimplyPsychology.org) - ANS--A child's inability to see a situation or the
world from
another person's perspective
-Piaget's theory states an egocentric child assumes that
others see, hear, and feel the same as the child
Exam Prep-Graded A
Emma Plank - ANS--Established "Child Life" and Education department at Cleveland
Metropolitan hospital.
- 1962 published "Working with Children in Hospitals."
*Notes individual differences of children's responses
to illness and stress (assessment)
* Truth Telling
(Child Life Handbook pg 10-13)
Nature Vs. Nurture - ANS-- Genetic Inheritance (nature) vs. Environmental factors
(nurture)
Nature: Focus on genetic, hormonal explanations for
behavior
Nurture: All behavior is learned from the
environment through conditioning.
Child Life Mission - ANS--Striving to reduce the negative impact of stressful or traumatic
life events and situations that affect the development, health, and well being of infants,
children, youth, and families.
-We also embrace the value of play as a healing modality as we work to enhance their
optimal growth and development through assessment, intervention, prevention,
advocacy, and education.
Child Life Values - ANS-Child Life Professionals value:
Infants, Children, Youth, and families
Play- Play facilitates healing, coping, mastery, self-
expression, creativity, achievement and learning, and
is vital to a child's optimal growth and development.
Therapeutic Relationships- Contribute to the
development of confidence, resilience, and problem-
solving skills that enable individuals and families to
deal effectively with challenges to development,
health, and well-being.
Communication
,Theoretical foundation of practice- Knowledge and
application of our foundations in theories of
development, play, stress, and coping, and family
systems are the basis of our professional practices.
Professional collaboration
Professional standards of practice- The commitment
to excellence and integrity through learning,
adherence to our code of ethics, and the development
and support of educational training programs based
upon defined clinical competencies.
Research
Bolig's types of Child Life Programs: (The Child Life Handbook pg 70) - ANS-Rosemary
Bolig listed five basic approaches to Child Life programming including...
A) Diversion
B) Activity/Recreation
C) Child Development
D) Therapeutic
E) Comprehensive
Stuart & Sundeen- Stages of Therapeutic Relationship: (Child Life Handbook, pg 64) -
ANS-1) Initiation/orientation phase- Establish trust, purpose & decide on plans/goals.
2) Working phase- works towards achieving goals.
3) Termination phase- End of relationship or closure.
Dana Prugh: - ANS-Created the 1st experimental designer research study to prove
adverse psychological upset resulting from hospitalization could be changed by
unlimited parental visitation, preparation, & play.
Considerations of Child Life Programming: (Guidelines for Development of Child Life
Programming pg 17) - ANS-- Establishing relationships and maintaining continuity of
care.
- Assessing children & families' potential vulnerability and
prioritizing care accordingly.
- Supporting and enhancing normal development through
play.
- Maintaining welcoming, safe play areas
- Assessing likely stress points and providing psychological
preparation
- Communicating with other members of the healthcare
team
,Characteristics of play, Play is: (Psychosocial care of children, pg 67) - ANS-
Interactions and activities that:
- Are pleasurable/enjoyable
- Involve extrinsic & intrinsic motivation
- Are spontaneous and/voluntary
- Involve active engagement either direct or
- vicarious on the part of the player
- Is a form of universal communication
Functions of Play: (Meeting Children's Psycho-social Needs, pg 83) - ANS-Play
provides a context for children to practice newly acquired skills and also function on the
edge of their developing capacities to take on new social roles, attempt novel or
challenging tasks, and to solve complex problems that they would not, could not
otherwise do.
Variables affecting hospitalized children and their play: (Meeting children's Psycho-
social Needs) - ANS-A) The play environment
B) Parental contact
C) Age
D) Length of hospitalization
E) Types of Illness
F) Gender
Normalization: (Meeting Children's Psycho-social needs, pg 181-182) - ANS-Is
Important for child's optimal development and encourage family stability
A Child Life Specialist would use normalization by:
A) Applying the same rules for special needs child as for other children in family
B) Encourage self-care
C) Intra-family communication
D) Empathize with child's abilities
E) Allow child to make decisions
Stress and Coping theory (Lazarus & Folkman): (Meeting Children's Psychosocial
Needs, Pg 184-185) - ANS-Potential stressors for families and children:
A) Aspects of illness
B) Role strain
C) Role confusion
D) Financial stressors
E) Time constraints
F) Energy demands
G) Psycho-social stressors
H) Sustained uncertainty.
Families should focus on resilience and coping
, Three theoretical models are considered when researching impact on a child's behavior
& emotions:
A) Discrete disease
B) Non-categorical
C) Mixed Models
Assimilation: (Handbook of Child Life, Pg 26) - ANS-The process where children take
new information and transform it into their way of thinking
Accommodation: (Handbook of Child Life, pg 26) - ANS-The process of taking new
information and adapting it or organizing it differently than your usual way of thinking
Equilibrium: (The Handbook of Child Life, Pg 26) - ANS-- Part of Piaget's theory of
cognitive development
equilibrium results after a child takes in some
information and undergoes accommodation to
incorporate this new information by adapting his or her
way of thinking.
- Achievement of equilibrium indicates some learning has
taken place
Scaffolding: (Child Life Handbook, Pg 27) - ANS-- The use of appropriate guidance
techniques that allow for
the presentation of enough challenge to advance the child
to the next level
- Adapt characteristics of the environment to promote
learning or information processing
- Inclusion of carefully presented information, open-ended
questions, & introduction to healthcare materials
Zone of Proximal development: (Handbook of Child Life, pg 27, 142) - ANS-Vygotsky's
term for the difference between a child's actual developmental level when acting
independently (without help) and the potential level a child may reach when guided (with
help)
Within this Zone, a child's potential is strongest
Egocentrism: (SimplyPsychology.org) - ANS--A child's inability to see a situation or the
world from
another person's perspective
-Piaget's theory states an egocentric child assumes that
others see, hear, and feel the same as the child
