Child Life and Expressive Therapies

Child Life and Expressive Therapies (Child Life Specialist, Music Therapist and Art Therapist), are members of the health care team and empower children, adolescents, and their families when coping with challenging life events related to illness, injury and hospitalization. Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital’s Child Life Team expanded to include a Music Therapist in February of 2009 and an Art Therapist in August of 2015, making our hospital the first hospital in the Texas Medical Center to have both Child Life and Expressive Therapies under one roof.

By providing age-appropriate play and activities, specialists facilitate healing, coping, self-expression, creativity, achievement and learning to patients and their families. Our specialists make every attempt to meet the emotional, developmental and psychosocial needs of all patients and family members, while building an understanding for the illness or injury and progression to an optimal level of wellness. Child Life is dedicated to helping children and families through:

• Availability to provide services throughout Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital
• Strive to normalize hospital experience for patients and families
• Provide emotional support, therapeutic play, positive interactions, developmental interventions and recreational opportunities
• Supply information about medical and surgical procedures at an age appropriate level
• Help children and their families prepare for procedures
• Support physicians and nurses during producers by providing distractions to patients
• Assist children and families of adult ICU patients with issues related to their family member's hospitalization
• Facilitate hospital and homebound school services
• Plan holiday and seasonal activities for hospitalized children

Activity Rooms

The Child Life and Expressive Therapies Department recognizes play as a healing modality. Play can help a patient and family cope with the stresses of hospitalization by providing a sense of normalcy and control. A wide range of developmentally appropriate activities for infants-teenagers can be found in the activity rooms on floors 8, 9, and 10. If a patient cannot visit an activity room due to isolation or medical status, toys and activities can be provided at bedside.

To contact a child life specialist, please call (713) 704-3553

School on Wheels

Maintaining routines is important for most kids during hospitalization. The Memorial Hermann School on Wheels hospital school program helps children continue their academic pursuits while also lessening some of the stress of an extended hospital stay by providing a little bit of normalcy during their stay. For patients experiencing an extended hospital stay, the School on Wheels Academic Coordinator works closely with families, school districts and the patient’s medical team to ease the transition to hospital-based schooling. Children who are inpatients at TIRR Memorial Hermann are also eligible for the school program from the first day of admission.

Reasons to Contact Child Life

• Empower children to better understand an illness or injury
• Help the parent or caregiver and your child better understand any upcoming surgery, procedure, treatment or new diagnosis
• Teach the parent or caregiver and your child coping strategies to help through a difficult procedure or treatment
• Help children understand and cope with the illness, injury or death of a family member or friend
• Enable children to be more comfortable with the hospital experience through activities and play

Child Life Specialists are also available at other Memorial Hermann hospitals, in affiliation with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, including locations in Katy, Memorial City, Sugar Land and The Woodlands.

For more information about Child Life, please call 713-704-3553.

Children’s Patient Advisory Council (CPAC)

The Children's Patient Advisory Council (CPAC) is a council made up of kids and teens who want to give power to the patient's voice and improve the patient experience at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. Learn more about the council and how to join »