Information on Becoming a Child Life Specialist
The Child & Family Services major within the Applied Human Sciences department is thrilled to announce the creation of:
FACS 189 Child Life Specialist!
Course Description for FACS 189:
Prepares students to acquire fundamental skills in helping children and families cope with the stress of a healthcare experience. Child Life programs strive to promote the optimum development of children, adolescents, and families, to maintain typical living patterns, and to minimize psychological trauma. Child Life specialists, as members of the healthcare team, maintain, enhance, and maximize average growth and development through play, education, advocacy, and therapeutic interventions. Upon completion of course, students will be able to promote the essential child life goals of minimizing stress and anxiety, promote coping, and promote normal development.
FACS 189 will be taught online during the fall semester.
Becoming a Child Life Specialist is quite challenging. Western Kentucky University does not have an Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) endorsed program as of yet but we are making great strides towards this goal! The courses offered within the Child & Family Services program are ones that contain topics required by the ACLP. We also offer other courses strongly suggested by the ACLP. And now, with FACS 189, we offer the required introductory course taught by a CCLS (Certified Child Life Specialist).
Students interested in becoming a Certified Child Life Specialist must engage with the ACLP about that certification, including the internship. They will continue to work with the Child & Family Services advisors, as well as our CCLS on staff.
While the field of Child Life is an admirable one, we caution students to research employment availability, educational requirements, and employment locations throughout the country. Having a degree in Child & Family Services is a wonderful preparation for graduate studies in the field of Child Life as well! Our degree is also one that students can fall-back on, offering many career areas.
Links from theAssociation of Child Life Professionalsthat might be of interest to students:
Back to Child & Family Services
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.