CCLS flashcards
CCLS · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Preoperational stage
- Piaget's stage from about ages 2 to 7, marked by magical thinking and egocentrism, so illness may be seen as punishment and explanations must be concrete and simple.
- FLACC scale
- Behavioral pain tool for infants and children roughly 2 months to 7 years; scores Face, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability from 0 to 2 each, for a total of 0 to 10.
- Wong-Baker FACES Scale
- Self-report pain scale using six drawn faces from no hurt to hurts worst; usable with children about 3 years and older who can point to a matching face.
- Approach coping style
- Coping pattern in which a child seeks information, watches procedures and participates actively; benefits from detailed preparation, choices, and a clear role during procedures.
- Avoidance coping style
- Coping pattern in which a child turns away, withdraws or distracts; benefits from brief preparation, distraction, comfort items, and gradual rather than detailed exposure.
- Separation anxiety sequence
- Bowlby's three-phase response to separation, protest then despair then detachment, which peaks between 6 and 30 months and is buffered by caregiver presence and consistent routines.
- Psychosocial risk assessment
- Systematic appraisal of factors predicting poor adjustment to healthcare, such as prior traumatic experiences, developmental delay, multiple invasive procedures, caregiver distress, and limited support.
- Play-based assessment
- Using observation of a child's spontaneous and directed play to estimate developmental level, coping style, understanding of illness, and misconceptions, without formal standardized testing.
- Normative play
- Unstructured, self-directed play typical for a child's age; it normalizes the healthcare setting, supports development, and provides a sense of control and mastery.
- Medical play
- Play using real or realistic medical equipment, often child-led, that lets children explore healthcare experiences, gain mastery, and reveal misconceptions adults can then correct.
- Therapeutic play
- Purposeful play, such as puppets, drawing or storytelling, that helps a child express feelings, rehearse coping, and work through a stressful healthcare experience.
- Procedural preparation
- Developmentally matched, honest information given before a procedure covering the sequence of events, expected sensory experience, and coping options, tailored to the child's age and coping style.
- Distraction technique
- Deliberately redirecting a child's attention away from pain or fear using bubbles, music, counting or screens; most effective for brief, acute procedures rather than teaching lasting coping skills.
- Comfort positioning
- Holding a child in a secure, upright, hug or side-lying position with caregiver involvement during a procedure, replacing forceful restraint and preserving dignity and control.
- Coping plan
- Individualized, rehearsed set of strategies such as breathing, counting, imagery, or a comfort item that a child chooses and practices before a stressful procedure.
- School re-entry support
- Planning and coordinating a child's return to school, including peer education, teacher consultation, and preparing the child to answer questions about appearance or absences.
- Assent
- A child's developmentally appropriate agreement to participate in care or research; it accompanies but never replaces the legal informed consent obtained from a parent or guardian.
- Mandatory reporting
- Legal obligation of child life specialists to report suspected child abuse or neglect to designated authorities based on reasonable suspicion, not on proof or investigation.
- Scope of practice
- Defined boundaries of the child life role: psychosocial and developmental support through play, preparation, and coping; psychotherapy and diagnostic assessment belong to licensed mental health disciplines.
- Professional boundaries
- Limits protecting the therapeutic relationship, including avoiding dual relationships, minimizing personal self-disclosure, following gift policies, and keeping contact within professional channels.
- Confidentiality limits
- Protected health information is kept private under HIPAA, but may be shared with the care team and disclosed when there is suspected abuse, imminent danger, or a legal requirement.
- Cultural humility
- Ongoing self-reflection about one's own biases and an openness to learning from each family's culture, language, values, and preferences rather than assuming competence.
- Reflective supervision
- Structured, regular review of clinical work and emotional responses with a supervisor, improving practice quality and reducing burnout and compassion fatigue.
- Evidence-based practice
- Clinical decisions combining the best available research evidence, the specialist's professional expertise, and the child's and family's values, preferences, and circumstances.
- Family-centered care
- Approach treating the family as the constant in a child's life and as partners in planning and delivering care, including presence during procedures and shared decision-making.
- Interdisciplinary team
- Group of professionals from different disciplines, such as medicine, nursing, child life, social work, and therapies, who share assessments and coordinate a single plan of care.
- HIPAA
- US federal law protecting the privacy and security of health information; it permits sharing only the minimum necessary information with those involved in the patient's care.
- Discharge planning
- Coordinated process starting at admission that arranges family education, follow-up appointments, equipment, medications, and community resources needed after leaving the hospital.
- Psychosocial services
- Hospital departments addressing emotional, social and family needs, typically including child life, social work, psychology, psychiatry, and chaplaincy, often consulted together.
- Social determinants of health
- Economic and social conditions such as housing, food security, transportation, insurance, and language that shape access to care, adherence, and health outcomes.
- Interdisciplinary rounds
- Scheduled team meetings where each discipline reports assessment findings and contributes to a shared care plan, the main forum for child life to share psychosocial information.
- Joint Commission standards
- Accreditation requirements for hospitals covering patient rights, safety, pain management, and psychosocial and spiritual care, which child life supports through documentation and practice.