TALK LIKE A KID: How child life specialists break down complex procedures the youngest patients

The healthcare system can be difficult for anyone to navigate. It is especially challenging for kids.

Child life specialists aim to make medicine easier to digest.

“We are celebrating child life month and the critical role child life specialists play in helping children and their families cope with stressful situations in a variety of settings,” said Ally Snowden.

Snowden is one of ten certified child life specialists with WakeMed Raleigh.

“Here at WakeMed, our team is in the hospital environment so we promote and protect emotional safety for children that are in duress, which really minimizes both the immediate and long-term effects hospitalization can have on children, especially a child who is receiving a new diagnosis,” said Snowden.

Throughout the month of March, specialists like Snowden are hoping to raise awareness that their roles exist.

Snowden said she hopes it will help more families feel less overwhelmed when finding themselves in the hospital.

“Child life specialists have a foundational background in child development and family systems theory. Our work really covers three main areas: preparation, coping and play,” explained Snowden. “We know that every child understands things differently.”

Aubrie Lewis said her family was first introduced to WakeMed Raleigh’s child life specialists when her son Wells was diagnosed with diabetes in November.

“I checked his blood sugar and it was 585,” Lewis recalled. “I think I screamed out, ‘Oh my gosh, I think he’s diabetic!”

The mother said the diagnosis came as a shock to their entire family.

Wells was just three years old at the time and is the youngest child in the family. The mother said it was hard to find the right words to explain to him how much his life was going to change.

“I think it was just a whirlwind and we were in disbelief. I don’t think anybody ever expects that your child is going to get hit with something as big as type 1 diabetes,” said Lewis.

She continued, “He was scared and confused I think mostly. You go from getting shots at your pediatrician’s appointment once a year, to getting poked and getting injections probably 20 times a day. It was a lot.”

The mother said the team of child life specialists made the biggest difference in her child’s understanding of his diagnosis.

The specialists met Wells and his family in his hospital room and brought along a stuffed animal and a fake medicine bag, filled with toys modeled to look like diabetes supplies.

The toys were made from felt and included things like an insulin pump and glucose tablets.

At the time, the kit was the only one like it in the entire hospital.

“It changed everything for his understanding of what he was dealing with,” Lewis said.

The specialists directed Wells to give the stuffed animal an insulin shot and check its glucose levels through a finger prick.

The child was then able to undergo real-life procedures and tests without fear.

The fake diabetes kit made such an impact on Wells, his family fundraised with friends and made 15 more kits. The kits were then donated to the hospital in December to help more children like him.

Snowden explained kits like the one Wells played with are just one of many tools child life specialists use.

She said nonprofits like Starlight Children’s Foundation help by donating other resources, including games.

“We are really lucky to partner with various organizations that help us do our job here and focus on the power of play in the hospital, one of them being the Starlight Children’s Foundation,” shared Snowden.

The foundation has supported WakeMed Raleigh for the past 13 years. In total, the foundation sends supplies to over 700 hospitals around the country.

“They’ve donated countless toys, patient gowns, programing, and gaming. It really helps us normalize this environment and provide opportunities for joy and distraction which can just have a huge impact for a child,” Snowden said.

Victoria de Jong, mission delivery coordinator and child life specialist with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, said the purpose of the donations are to help children feel more at ease.

“As a child, you are meant to be playing with your friends and being with peers,” de Jong said. “Being in the hospital really takes them away from the things that they know they are put into an unfamiliar environment. We make hospitals an easier place to be for kids and their family. “

Snowden said she hopes more families will feel encouraged to seek out child life specialists to help with navigating and understanding the complexities of medicine.

“We are here to support children 0-18 and their parents and their siblings,” said Snowden. “We want to make sure during a , a parent still knows their role: which is the parent. We want to make sure they’re standing at the head of the bed during that procedure so a child sees you and they feel the most comforted and feel safe with you there.”

Child life specialists at WakeMed Raleigh are available to provide psychosocial intervention in several departments, including pediatrics, surgical services, mental health and well being, and the emergency department.