{Child Life}

The other day I was looking online for places to buy cloth hospital dolls for a project I am involved in this summer, or to possibly get them donated. I was never successful in my search, so if anyone has ideas, please let me know! I think that a little medical play with some cloth hospital dolls could make a world of difference with some children I will be working with. My membership to the Child Life Council expired so I no longer have access to the wonderful forums. I can’t afford to pay the $100 + membership fees right now or to go to the Conference in Boston in May. I’m frustrated by both of those facts, but oh well. I have a roof over my head and food in my stomach. I shouldn’t complain. Anyway, the point of this post is that in my search I came across a great article! The funny thing is, it is over 20 years old! I have never read it before in any of my Child Life classes but I found it informative and still relevant despite the time that has gone by since it was originally published.

{If a Doll Wears an Eye Patch, I Can Too}

The Handbook of Child Life

While exploring amazon.com the other night I came across a new and not yet released book titled ‘The Handbook of Child Life: A Guide for Pediatric Psychosocial Care’ edited by Richard H. Thompson, Ph.D. While the book isn’t out yet, there is the available option on amazon to explore a little bit of the book. There is no publish date yet, but hopefully it will be soon. Chapters include, The Story of Child Life, Theoretical Foundations of Child Life Practice, Research in Child Life, Therapeutic Relationships in Child Life, Communication and Child Life, Family-Centered Care and the Implications for Child Life Practice, Assessment and Documentation in Child Life, Paradigms of Play, Psychological Preparation and Coping, Program Administration and Supervision, Child Life Interventions in Critical Care and At the End of Life, Working with Grieving Children and Families, Chronic Illness and Rehabilitation, The Emergency Department and Ambulatory Care, Child Life and Education Issues: The Child with a Chronic Illness or Special Healthcare Needs, and Child Life: A Global Perspective.

I had not heard anything about this book until discovering it by accident on amazon. I read the first eight pages that are available to view, but I am looking forward to reading the entire thing! What are your favorite books and resources?

Children’s Hospital of Orange County offers a Child Life Internship in the Fall and Spring. They are not offering a Summer internship for 2009, but the deadline has already passed. Applications can be found here. The internship at CHOC is a 15 week, full time experience. CHOC is located about 5 miles from Disneyland! Your rotations might start as early as 4:30 in the morning and go as late as 12:30 am. Housing is not available. They do accept independent interns. You will have to submit transcripts, resume, letters of recommendation, documentation of 150 hours of volunteer work or 100 hour practicum, and also two essays; one about yourself and one about Child Life. The deadline for applying for the fall session is May 5th. Good luck!

This is just slightly off topic, but has to do with children’s charities and a rare metabolic disease. I am very thrilled for this new project, started by two wonderful and giving ladies! Goods for Goodness Sake made it’s debut a few days ago and are all about shopping and giving back at the same time! They have adorable invitations, note cards, note pads, magnets, recipe cards and much more. 100% of their profits go to charities. No, that is not a typo, one hundred percent. They do not have a staff beyond the two of them and do not pay themselves. The five charities they have now are incredibly small and do not see more than $500k in annual revenue. One of the options for a charity to donate to is Cystinosis Research Network, one that is extremely near and dear to my heart.
Cystinosis is a rare disease that primarily affects children. Without specific treatment, children with Cystinosis develop end stage kidney failure at approximately age 9. It is extremely rare as it is estimated that about 500 individuals in the United States are diagnosed.

You have the option to pick what charity you would like the profits from your order to go to. So if you are in the market for wonderful note cards or any other paper goods, do some shopping and some good at the same time!