Support Resources Episodes

For today's 12 minute talk, I'm interviewing Ashley McGaughy. Ashley is a pediatric occupational therapist from Chicago, and she primarily works as an independent contractor with kids in intervention programs, ages zero to three. She works on everything from play to daily life skills, and she gets to see kids both in their homes and in private community settings. She has a lot of expertise to offer, and I'm so excited to share it with you. In this episode, we talk about… [1:09] How Ashley got i...

This episode is sponsored by SmileMakers. Use code ONCALL20 for 20% off your order of smile making stickers, toys, patient supplies, and more! This episode is also sponsored by Magic Mind, the World's First Productivity Drink Go here and enter code childlifeoncall20 for 20% off your order This is a quick 12-minute talk addressing how to prepare children for back-to-school. My son is going into first grade, and during last school year I was able to apply a lot of my Child Life skills to him. I wa...

Answering parent questions in a 12 minute talk. This episode is sponsored by SmileMakers. Use code ONCALL25 for 20% off your order of smile making stickers, toys, patient supplies, and more! Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist gives specific language to use when talking with your child about an upcoming surgery. +When to bring up the topic before surgery day +Things to do prior to surgery to get prepared +How to address pain, fear and the unknown Have you heard? The Child Life On Call mobile ...

Answering parent questions in a 12 minute talk. Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist talks with Christine Bomberger, Music Therapist at Cleveland Clinic Children's. We talk about: +Why music therapy should be a staple in every children's hospital +An example of how "Baby Shark" helped a child through a painful dressing change +How you can seek out music therapists in your community Have you heard? The Child Life On Call mobile app for parents, kids and their care team will be available in 2022...

Answering parent questions in a 12 minute talk. Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist talks with Lauren Holley, CCLS and Professor discusses the topic: How to Talk to Kids About Death. We talk about: +How to concretely explain death to kids at all stages of development +What emotional responses kids may display after the conversation +Ways to keep the conversation "ongoing" to help kids feel supported When parents feel empowered, everyone wins – kids thrive and the care team excels! Links and R...

Answering Parent Questions: How Do I Tell My Kids that I Have Cancer? Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist gives you tips, language and things to consider when you're telling children about a cancer diagnosis in the family. We talk about: +How to assess your child's reaction to the news +Concrete language to describe cancer and chemotherapy +Ways to keep the conversation open-ended Have you heard? The Child Life On Call mobile app for parents, kids and their care team will be available in ...

"Being a child life specialist with this population is not just about supporting them through their hospital experience, its about preparing them for the rest of their life." Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist talks with two child life specialists, Katie and Jessica, from the transplant team at MedStar Georgetown Hospital. These essential members of the care team talk about: The ways they developmentally and emotionally support pediatric transplant families How they address hard questions fo...

Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist is interviewed and asked about ways to support children of chronically ill or medically complex children. Questions that Katie discusses include: +How to have hard conversations with children +How to keep siblings included and understood +When is the best time to have a baby after having a child with medical needs Madeline is the host of The Rare Life podcast and this episode is also featured on her show. Have you heard? The Child Life On Call mobile app fo...

0

Annie, Certified Child Life Specialist interviews Lindsey, mom to Memphis a son who suffered from Infant Botulism. Lindsey is an experienced mother of three when her son, Memphis, came into the world. She breastfed him like she had her others and when he started refusing to nurse and acting sleepy, she took him urgent care. After two urgent care visits had concluded that Memphis had a cold-virus, his symptoms continued and she took him to the ER where he was quickly diagnosed with Infant Botulis...

Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist interviews Shay Shull from Mix & Match Mama. Shay is a cookbook author, lifestyle blogger, travel agency owner, wife and mama who loves making every day special for my family. Shay is mom to four kids and she and her husband live in McKinney, Texas. Today, we talk about her daughter Ashby and how their family copes with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS). Ashby is one of her adopted children from China and has had over 22 surgeries since joining their family....

Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist interviews Effie Parks, mom to Ford who was born with a rare disease called CTNNB1. Effie is the host of the Once Upon a Gene podcast and in this episode she shares about her journey into parenthood and what it's like raising a child with special needs. She describes how: she learned to advocate for her son's needs self-care is non-negotiable she came to the realization that although parenting is different than she envisioned, her son has taught her more ...

Katie Taylor, Certified Child Life Specialist interviews Dana Burnett, Certified Child Life Specialist for the Bougier City, Louisiana school district. Dana talks about her child life journey up until this point and how she has transitioned to supporting K-8th grade students through 1:1 interventions. She focuses on serving students with chronic illness, children facing illness and loss, and children with parents who have an illness. Follow along with Dana on Instagram @takingchildlifetoschool...

Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist talks to Danielle, mom to Della a daughter with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. You may know Danielle formally as Danni Starr, the media personality, but she is also momma of two girls, one of which suffers from invisible, chronic illness. Danielle takes us through what the journey to a diagnosis was like (spoiler: it wasn't easy), how their entire family copes with the ups and downs and one surprising revelation: chronic illness isn't all bad. Listen to D...

(This episode was developed in partnership with Aflac. I was compensated for this episode, but all opinions are entirely my own. #ad) In this episode, Katie Taylor, Certified Child Life Specialist talks about the importance of a community for caregivers. She interviews Nichole who shares what her son's experience with cancer has been like. Sara Stewart, Child Life Specialist at Lurie Children's Hospital discusses how she supports children and families during their cancer journey. Nichole refers ...

Katie talks to two Certified Child Life Specialists and military spouses, Savannah Self and Lisa McWhorter about ways to support military families. From long waits in military hospitals to helping children navigate the deployment of parents, child life specialists have an important role in helping families cope. A lack of consistency in providers due to moves across the country, and the world, is one of the biggest healthcare challenges military families face. Savannah and Lisa share tips and ...

Spit up, and even reflux, can be a common problem for infants, but what happens when it's more than that? In this episode, Amrita shares with Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist, about what happens when a child's reflux became severe and leads to a three-week hospitalization, a feeding tube, and ongoing support from developmental therapists. This is the reality of severe gastroesophogeal reflux disease. Listen to Amrita's story to hear how she has coped with this experience and how her son ...

Katie talks to Dominique, mom to Mila, who shares her birth story and NICU experience. Born at just 1lb 11ounces at 26 weeks old, Mila has made tremendous progress thanks to proactive parents, therapies and her momma's un conditional love. Dominique talks about the fear that comes with being an African American pregnant woman in the healthcare setting as well as the impact that sharing her story and community has had on her ability to cope with their journey. You can follow Dominique Pompey th...

Katie, Certified Child Life Specialist, talks with Meg Casano, mother to Ella who has Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) and also created the nonprofit Medi Teddy which is a stuffed animal cover for intravenous medications. Meg talks about the journey to discover her daughter's diagnosis and how an initial prediction that Ella's ITP would only last six months but has turned out to be a life-long chronic illness. She discusses the financial and emotional challenges that exist when you hav...

This is the first promotional episode for the Child Life On Call Podcast. If you would like to share your story, email us at childlifeoncall@gmail.com, visit our website at www.childlifepodcast.com, or find us on Instagram @childlifeoncall. The first official podcast episode will launch in June 2017. Subscribe to be updated on our most recent episodes.