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Kyla Johnson
Understanding ACLP Compentencies
"The ability to assess the developmental and psychosocial needs of infants, children, youth, and families."
I was able to apply skills and knowledge learned throughout various courses to be able to assess how the children of different ages that I observed vary in their level of cognitive, language, physical, and emotional development.
I was able to use information from my own personal experiences to analyze the emotional and cognitive needs of children and members in my family as well as apply them to research.
"The ability to initiate and maintain meaningful and therapeutic relationships with infants, children, youth, and families"
From facilitating a therapeutic group meeting, I was able to identify sets of tools to be used in practice to help children and their families. All while putting my reflection into writing on this experience.
I learned about specific tools to offer support and communication to children and families experiencing loss, grief, or bereavement to meet their needs through meaningful and therapeutic relationships.
"The ability to provide opportunities for play for infants, children, youth, and families."
Through this paper, I was able to identify different activities that can be used for children and families. I was able to create legacy projects of my own to develop upon this understanding. Through play and different activities regarding grief, both physical and psychosocial development can improve.
Though creating a hypothetical dialogue situation between a 5-year-old female and a CCLS I was able to identify the importance of play and how it can help with the needs of psychosocial development, cognitive development, as well as the impact therapeutic play can have on siblings.
Through crafting this chart I was able to identify the typical developmental factors of children at different age groups as well as typical challenges that they may face in regards to development while discussing coping skills.
"The ability to support infants, children, youth, and families in coping with stressful events."
I was able to idenfy specifc ways to encourage calm behaviors amoung children aged 2-5 based upon the soical leaning theory. I talked about how through socialization, child can learn behaviors such as to restrain from aggression, agitation, and worry in different stressful events.
I learned that through creating different legacy activities for families, children, or siblings coping with the loss of an individual, growth and support can be shown. Honoring the individual in a way that is meaningful to all through this discussion showed me the importance of legacy activities in child life.
"The ability to provide teaching, specific to the population served, including psychological preparation for potentially stressful experiences, with infants, children, youth, and families."
Through this literature review, I was able to further understand the anxiety that children face as a result of a pediatric cancer diagnosis through their journey of diagnosis and into survivorship as the child endures emotional, social, and physical distress. I was able to reflect upon ways to help this population through stressful events in survivorship such as helping them through their scanxiety, and different procedures, and helping them understand what is happening to them on a cognitively appropriate level.
I was able to reflect and answer different questions on the specific population of adolescents and how to help this population through child life preparation. As adolescents endure different challenges as a part of development it is important to know about the population and the conflicts that they endure.
"The ability to practice within the scope of professional and personal knowledge and skill base."
I was able to exhibit my understanding and knowledge of pediatric leukemia and how a child life specialist would be able to assist in this situation. I created a real-life hypothetical scenario based on evidence of this disease and with my professional and personal knowledge of this population I created different skills and therapeutic activities to help someone in this situation.
Through reflecting on an interview with a local nurse assistant at my hospital I was able to learn about the importance of practice aswell as issues that are present in my local healthcare system.
The transcript of my interview goes over various topics about different scopes of practice. As the individual I interviewed worked on a labor and delivery floor I was able to identify certain aspects of infants and family care that will be important to my professional growth.
"The ability to continuously engage in self-reflective professional child life practice."
Reflecting on your own personal experiences with hard topics is important in creating boundaries so you do not take your personal struggles into your professional workplace. From reflecting on my own loss timeline, I was able to self-reflect only on my experiences and identify growth.
Through watching a movie, I was able to see how grief affects different individuals and what coping techniques and strategies helped them through their journey. This reflection, overall, helped me be able to identify ways in my own professional and personal practice to support someone going through loss, grief, and bereavement.
"The ability to represent and communicate child life practice and psychosocial issues of infants, children, youth, and families to others."
Social media does have an impact on the way individuals live their lives and through it sparer, I was able to identify ways it impacts adolescent development. Through this paper, I discussed the attachment to social media and the way it affects social relationships, and how ti impacts the self-awareness and self-esteem of adolescents.
The social role theory and the life course theory are two important aspects of development. The psychosocial impacts that affect children are important from an aspect of child's life because When a child is sick, ill, hospitalized, or even loses a loved one their daily lives can be disrupted. These aspects were discussed in this discussion example.
"The ability to integrate clinical evidence and fundamental child life knowledge into professional decision-making."
In my mini proposal, I explored the question: Does Chemotherapy Impact the Health Conditions of Pediatric Cancer Patients After Treatment? With evidence and research, I was able to answer how chemotherapy in pediatric use affects the quality of life, creates anxiety, and impacts family systems. As well was bale to use research to help explain how a child's life specialty can help in professional decision making.
Through different research and evidence pieces, I was able to identify problems in adolescent development as well as the biological change that happens during this developmental period. This application of research suggests that problems in adolescents like certain internalizing and externalizing disorders among adolescents can create the evidence that has already been provided.
Self-reflecting on my own family health history has allowed me to practice aspects of my professional career in my own life. I was able to identify the importance of knowing health history and how it can help infants, children, youth, and families in healthcare settings. I was able to reflect on different professional practices that are important to focus on through different stages of illness though my own family health history.
In this reflection, I was able to reflect and identify legacy-building activities, coping strategies to use before, during, and after a loss, and self-care strategies to use for myself. This topic can be hard to understand but learning to differ supports those going through this, as well as self-reflection, is very important.
I wrote this paper while applying to graduate school and find it really helpful in terms of showing my growth and the reason behind wanting to pursue a career in this field. It hasn't always been easy but I truly feel this is the right path for me and where I feel I can make an impact.
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