About Educational Play Therapy

Introduction
Play helps children in hospital
The aims of the Educational Play Therapy Department

Introduction

Educational Play 1 Hospitals can be difficult places for young children and their families to be. In hospital, children may find strange faces, different routines, strange beds and equipment, limited family contact, unfamiliar surroundings, different smells, food and sounds.

Illness itself, can produce stress in all of us and when hospitalisation is added to illness, that stress is increased. Studies have shown that hospital experiences can seriously influence a child's development. Negative hospital experiences can interfere with a child's rehabilitation and recuperation and can inhibit normal growth and development.

Caring for a child's psycho-social state is vital for normal growth and development. It is not unusual for a child to react to being in hospital by expressions of protest such as crying, tantrums, shaking, thumb sucking, bed wetting, refusing to eat, being withdrawn and rejecting the adults around them. They may also exhibit signs of restlessness, exhaustion, regression from known developmental stages, depression, apathy and dissociative reactions such as amnesia.

All of these reactions are common in hospitalised children but can be worked through with the child to help the child better cope with their situation. Play, a familiar activity for most children, is a way to help children with issues they may have around hospitals and hospitalisations. It can also help to reduce stress in a child.

Play helps children in hospital to:

Adjust to a strange environment.
Involve themselves in activities they enjoy and are familiar with and which are important for continued learning and development.
Express their concerns about being in hospital.
Familiarise them with hospital staff and their roles.
Cope with hospital routines.
Learn about their illness and how to cope with treatments.
Meet and get to know other children.
As well as providing normal play activities for hospitalised children, Educational Play Therapists may be able to offer diversion/distraction for children undergoing treatment, medical preparation through play and medical play activities.

The aims of the Department of Educational Play Therapy are:

To make hospitalisation a positive experience for children and their families
To minimise anxiety and stress experienced by children in an unfamiliar setting
To enhance the patients' emotional, social, physical and cognitive growth in the context of their family, culture and stage of development
To enhance understanding of medical experiences for children
To help children continue everyday living experiences as much as possible
To foster normal growth and development of hospitalised children through play and life experiences
To prepare children for admission to hospital and medical procedures.

Last Updated 11-Dec-2008. Authorised by: Leanne Hallowell. Enquiries: Webmaster.