2009 Conference Program - Child Life Council

43. Beyond Sesame Street: The Therapeutic Use of
Puppets in Healthcare
Sara Reynolds, CCLS, Child Life Specialist, Monroe Carell Jr.
Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN
Judith Ross, CCLS, Child Life Specialist, Children’s National
Medical Center, Washington, DC
Puppets are creative and unique teaching tools that
empower children to make their feelings known. This
interactive session will give an overview of the use of
puppetry in the hospital setting as well as provide
attendees with techniques to make puppet interactions
more successful and realistic.
44. Poetic Justice: Mastering Hospitalization Through
Words and Imagery
Jean Sweeney, MA, CCLS, Child Life Specialist, Maria Fareri
Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center,
Valhalla, NY
The workshop presentation will outline the step by step
implementation of a creative writing program. This will
include the therapeutic benefits of poetry for the
pre-adolescent and adolescent patient struggling with
healthcare challenges. A collection of poetry created by
the hospitalized patient will be presented and discussed
during the workshop.
9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Student Brunch Event — Students Only
Sponsored by
9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Networking Roundtable Brunch for Child
Life Professionals
Networking discussions are special small group discussions
for child life professionals led by a networking facilitator.
The purpose of these sessions is to give professionals
a chance to meet in groups in order to explore a particular
topic of special importance. These sessions allow participants
to meet others with similar responsibilities and
begin or continue building an informal network of child
life colleagues. An excellent opportunity to make lasting
professional connections and collaborate with your peers!
Roundtables will be set up for the following topics:
Adolescents
Alternative Settings
Bereavement
BMT
Burns
Cardiac
Child Abuse
Child Life Education and
Training
Clinical Supervision
Creative Arts
Critical Care
Cystic Fibrosis
Directors/Leaders
Emergency Department
Ethics
Hematology/Oncology
Hospice/Palliative Care
Hospital Relocation
Infants
International
Intensive Care
Internships
Kidney Disease
NICU
One Person Programs
Operation Smile
Orthopedics
Outpatient Clinics
Pain Management
Radiology
Siblings
Special Events
Surgery
Volunteers
Sunday, May 24
(Limited Attendance – Must Pre-Register to Attend!)
This is a special program allowing students the opportunity
to ask open-ended questions to child life professionals. All
students are encouraged to register for this interactive event.
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Child Life Distinguished Service
Award Presentation
The Distinguished Service Award is the
highest award presented by the Child
Life Council Executive Board, recognizing
exceptional members for outstanding
contributions to the field of child life.
The 2009 Distinguished Service Award
will be presented at the Closing General session to Sharon
McLeod, MS, CCLS, CTRS. Sharon’s career as a child life
specialist has spanned more than 32 years, and the Child Life
Council has benefitted from her dedicated leadership and
involvement for much of that time. She has directed two of
the largest child life programs in the country, including her
current position as the Senior Clinical Director at Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sharon’s commitment, influence, and willingness to share
knowledge are just a few of the reasons she was selected as
this year’s award recipient. A full feature article detailing
Sharon’s inspiring career will appear in the Spring 2009 edition
of the Bulletin.
Closing General Session
The closing general session will be a dance production performed
by The Adaptive Dance Program, a successful joint venture
between Boston Ballet and the Department of Physical Therapy
at Children’s Hospital Boston. The program reflects an innovative
collaboration between the staff from both facilities and is
designed to foster a love of dance and creative expression in
children with Down’s syndrome. Although the primary goal
of Adaptive Dance classes is for the children to experience the
sheer joy of dance and music, program evaluation suggests that
it has many other important benefits to the children who participate
including improvements in their coordination, overall
fitness, balance, focus, listening, self-esteem, self-expression,
rhythm and musicality.
B oston, Massachusetts | May 21 – 24, 2009 | 19