CCLS key terms

A planned process of gathering information about a child's development, coping, emotions, family, and health experience so the team can design support that fits the child's needs.

A brief, structured check of a child's skills compared with expected milestones, used to identify possible delays that may change how the child understands and responds to care.

Age-linked skills most children gain in movement, language, thinking, and social interaction, which guide what explanations, choices, and coping support a child can likely handle.

A child's usual way of handling stress, such as seeking information, withdrawing, acting out, or seeking comfort, which helps specialists choose strategies likely to work.

Observation of a child's spontaneous or guided play to learn about development, feelings, conflicts, and coping, because play is how children naturally show what they know and feel.

An individualized written plan listing goals, interventions, and expected outcomes for a child's psychosocial care, updated as the child's condition, needs, or response to support changes.

Gathering information with awareness that illness, injury, and hospitalization can be traumatic, focusing on safety, triggers, and strengths as well as problems.

Using self-report scales and behavioral or physical cues, matched to age and communication ability, to estimate a child's pain and judge whether comfort measures are working.

Viewing a child as part of a family whose roles, routines, culture, and relationships shape adjustment, so assessment and support include caregivers and siblings.

Piaget's description of how children's thinking changes in stages from concrete to abstract, helping specialists match explanations and preparation to what a child can understand.

Purposeful play facilitated by a trained adult that helps a child express feelings, practice skills, and gain mastery over stressful experiences in a safe, developmentally suitable way.

Play with real or pretend medical materials that lets children explore, rehearse, and make sense of equipment, procedures, and body sensations, reducing fear and mistaken ideas.

Developmentally tailored teaching before a procedure that explains what will happen, when, and how it may feel, plus coping strategies, to reduce uncertainty and distress.

Redirecting a child's attention to engaging, age-appropriate stimuli such as bubbles, music, counting, or conversation during a stressful event to lower perceived pain and anxiety.

Structured methods such as slow breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or guided imagery that help a child reduce physical tension and arousal before or during stressful care.

Holding or positioning a child in a secure, developmentally supportive way during a procedure to improve safety and comfort while preserving dignity and some control.

Creating routines, play, schoolwork, and social contact that resemble everyday life so hospitalization disrupts the child's development and family patterns as little as possible.

Planned attention to brothers and sisters, including age-appropriate information, contact or visits, and chances to express feelings, because siblings often feel scared, jealous, or forgotten.

Ongoing, developmentally matched help for children and families after a death, including honest explanations, grief expression, memory-making, and follow-up that respects family and cultural practices.

Clear, respectful statements of behavioral expectations and consequences that protect safety and teach coping, delivered without shame and adjusted to the child's developmental level.

The boundaries of what a certified child life specialist is trained and authorized to do, guiding when to act independently, consult a colleague, or refer elsewhere.

A profession's formal statement of values and expected conduct, such as honesty, respect, and accountability, that guides decisions when duties or interests conflict.

A child's agreement to participate, sought in language they can understand after a developmentally appropriate explanation, while a parent or guardian gives legal consent.

The duty to protect private health information and share it only with people who need it for care, within legal limits such as suspected abuse or imminent danger.

The legal obligation of designated professionals to report reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect to authorities, even when it may strain a helping relationship.

Appropriate limits on relationships with patients and families that keep the focus on the child's needs and prevent favoritism, exploitation, or confusion about roles.

Regular guided discussion of clinical work that helps specialists examine their reactions, biases, and decisions, improving practice quality and supporting emotional resilience.

Deliberate practices that protect a specialist's physical and emotional well-being, such as rest, peer support, and setting limits, reducing burnout and preserving good judgment.

Combining the best available research, clinical expertise, and family preferences when choosing interventions, rather than relying only on habit or tradition.

A structured process for resolving moral dilemmas by identifying the problem, gathering facts, weighing principles and stakeholders, choosing a course, and reviewing the outcome.

Speaking up and taking action to protect a child's or family's rights, needs, and preferences within the health care system, including when routines conflict with good care.

A group of professionals from different disciplines who coordinate care and share information about a patient, with the child and family included as central members.

Working respectfully with colleagues from other fields, sharing knowledge and negotiating roles, to produce coordinated care better than any single profession could provide alone.

An approach that treats the family as a partner in care, honoring their knowledge, culture, and choices while negotiating how they will participate in the child's treatment.

A collaborative conversation in which clinicians explain options and evidence and families share values and preferences, leading to a jointly chosen plan of care.

Organizing appointments, services, information, and transitions among providers and settings so the child receives consistent, efficient care without gaps or duplication.

A formal request to another professional or service for evaluation or support, including clear reasons and relevant information so the child receives expertise beyond child life scope.

Preparing the child and family for leaving the hospital, including teaching, equipment, follow-up appointments, and community resources, started early and revised as needs change.

An organizational approach that assumes trauma is common, prioritizes safety, trust, choice, and empowerment, and avoids practices that retraumatize patients, families, or staff.

Systematic, ongoing efforts to measure and improve care processes and outcomes using data, team problem-solving, and small tests of change rather than blaming individuals.