Academic program development

For students pursuing a career in Child Life, the Association of Child Life Professionals has identified 10 specific courses required for certification eligibility in addition to a clinical internship. Most universities have 7 of the 10 required courses in place - with the addition of any remaining courses, your students can be internship-eligible after completing their degree.

For students pursuing a career in medicine, including therapeutic avenues such as physical and occupational therapy, speech and language pathology, social work, art and music therapy, there will be a time that each of these professionals will work with either pediatric patients/clients, or children of adult patients/clients. Gaining insight into how to best support children, how to normalize their experiences, and how to utilize play as the language of children, to provide the best possible care and support.

For both general and special educators, classroom teachers will at some point work with children coping with medical challenges, or children coping with the impact of loss or trauma. Most credential programs don't include these elements that are becoming more commonplace in the classroom settings. Gaining insight into how to best support children coping with any of these challenges, learning how to best advocate for children needing IEPs or Section 504s to modify their modifications to support student success is essential!  

If your university isn't yet offering the Association of Child Life Professionals' 10 required courses, lets explore how to add any courses not yet offered through your university so that every student pursuing a career with children and families is prepared to support those children - and for students introduced to Child Life, they will have a new career option to explore!