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Cheery Charlie and child life

February 7, 2023 by Savannah A. Keller

Tamar Adler holding craft bags.

Avi Adler was lying unconscious underneath a truck when his family found him in June 2020.  

A delivery truck driver had reversed without looking, striking Avi on the 20th mile of his bike ride. After the accident, the 18-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where he awoke with broken bones and a concussion.  

A child life specialist helped Avi while he was hospitalized, making him and his family feel calmer and at ease. 

Missouri State University student Tamar Adler was inspired by how much the specialist helped her brother through his traumatic injury. 

“The accident changed Avi, and it also changed me,” Tamar said. “It made me realize I wanted a career that benefits other people.”     

Since the accident, Avi has fully recovered. Tamar changed her career trajectory from fashion to child life.   

Bringing joy with Cheery Charlie 

Tamar Adler and Charlie smiling.Tamar had to think outside the box to find ways to volunteer in this field since it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I started making craft bags and donated them to the child life departments at local St. Louis hospitals as a way to volunteer from home,” Tamar said. “The bags help kids be creative and experience normalcy while in the hospital.” 

She named her volunteer project Cheery Charlie and turned it into an official Missouri nonprofit corporation.  

“I chose the name because I had just gotten a puppy named Charlie, and Charlie makes me cheery,” she said.  

Since the inception of Cheery Charlie in January 2021, Tamar has donated over 6,000 craft bags to children in St. Louis hospitals.   

Tamar won the St. Louis Jewish Light 2022 Unsung Hero Award for her time, service and commitment to the St. Louis Jewish community through Cheery Charlie. 

Learn more about Cheery Charlie

Furthering her passion through education 

Tamar enrolled in Missouri State’s online child life graduate program two years after her brother’s accident.  

She plans to graduate in May 2027. As a future child life specialist, Tamar will help children and their families deal with the challenges of trauma, loss, long-term illness or injury and more.  

She said the knowledge she has gained about child life through her program has been invaluable for her future and nonprofit.  

“Being able to study child life at MSU while working on Cheery Charlie has been so powerful to me,” Tamar said. 

“My time at MSU has only allowed me to love child life even more.”

Despite the program being online, Tamar feels a great connection to her fellow child life students and her advisor, Dr. Lindsey Murphy.  

“Tamar is a natural,” said Murphy, assistant professor of childhood education and family studies at Missouri State.  

“She exudes joy and many characteristics and skills needed to be a great child life specialist. I have no doubt she will continue to touch many patients, families and staff throughout her career.” 

Explore child life studies 

Filed Under: Child Life Studies, COE Students, Graduate Program Tagged With: child life specialist, childhood education and family studies

COE department head receives statewide award

April 16, 2020 by Sydni Moore

Hill Hall on a spring day.

Dr. Denise Cunningham, childhood education and family studies department head, and all her hard work has not gone unnoticed. Missouri Educators of Family and Consumer Sciences and Human Services (MoEFACS) recently selected Cunningham as the recipient of the 2020 Champion Business Leader award.  

The news came to Cunningham in a letter from Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). 

“When I first saw the letter, I thought another faculty member, Debra Price, had won an award for post-secondary teaching,” Cunningham said. “I had no idea the award was for me. I didn’t think I had done anything worthy of being recognized.” 

MoEFACS felt differently, as do her colleagues.  

“A leader is a person who empowers and uses the strengths of others in order to yield positive results. Dr. Cunningham is that type of leader,” Dr. Stefanie Livers said. Livers is an assistant professor in Cunningham’s department. “She effectively supports faculty in their individual teaching and research, orchestrating a synergistic body that provides students with quality programs.” 

Creating a legacy  

Cunningham began at Missouri State in 2005 as an assistant professor in early childhood education. She has since “demonstrated a sustained commitment to improving career and technical education.” 

“I have been intentional about working with family and consumer science teachers to develop dual credit opportunities in child development, human development and family studies, as well as education-specific courses, such as Introduction to Elementary Education,” Cunningham said.  

She has also invited FACS and Career Pathways teachers and interested students to campus to learn about related MSU programs.  

In addition to creating opportunities, Cunningham led the development of two master’s degree programs: Master of Science in Child Life Studies and Master of Science in Early Childhood Special Education. Cunningham also expanded the College of Education’s Internship Academy to include opportunities for early childhood education candidates.  

“I have also been involved in Bear Partnership, a summer, week-long immersion experience for high school students interested in the field of education,” Cunningham said.  

MSU memories 

One of Cunningham’s favorite memories in her 15 years at the university is when she implemented the Abundant Books for Children project across schools in Stone County.  

The project culminated from her own research, and she put it to use in an early childhood methods course as a service-learning assignment. She and her undergraduate students went to five school districts to provide workshops for families with preschool students. The workshops taught families how to use an interactive, shared book experience with their young children.  

“The work with the families was so enjoyable, but I was thrilled at what students learned from the experience,” Cunningham said. “It was so cool to have my research, teaching and service so connected.” 

Cunningham said she looks forward to the rest of her time at Missouri State. She will be recognized for her work July 22, at a MoEFACS luncheon and awards ceremony. Additionally, MoEFACS will forward an application for Cunningham to the National Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences (NATFACS), to compete for the Champion for Family and Consumer Sciences award.

Filed Under: Child Life Studies, COE Faculty Tagged With: award, Denise Cunningham, FACS, Stefanie Livers

The heroic role of a child life specialist

March 30, 2020 by Sydni Moore

Grace Pipkins poses outside of Mercy Kids Children's Hospital in Springfield.

There is power in deep breathing. It’s a coping mechanism Missouri State graduate student Grace Pipkins keeps in the toolbox of her mind.

It led to one of her favorite moments during her training to become a child life specialist.

She was working with a patient, completing a practicum in Cape Town, South Africa, when it happened.

“While working with this boy, I could tell he was in a lot of pain,” Pipkins said. “Through the play activity we were doing, something didn’t seem right.”

The boy’s face read that he was uncomfortable — that he was unable to concentrate.

So, Pipkins took his hand and started breathing deeply. Soon, he began to do the same.

Later that week, Pipkins was asked to work with the same patient. As soon as they sat down, he showed her just how much she had helped.

“He grabbed my hand and started taking deep breaths,” Pipkins said. “It was the moment I saw all my training come into place.”

Experience Gained

Some methods may be simple, but the responsibilities of a child life specialist are vast.

According to the website for the Association of Child Life Professionals, “In both healthcare and community settings, Certified Child Life Specialists (CLS) help infants, children, youth and families cope with the stress and uncertainty of acute and chronic illness, injury, trauma, disability, loss and bereavement.”

Gracie Pipkins smiles with coworkers during her time as an intern.
Pipkins, second from left, smiles with coworkers during her internship.

Pipkins is not yet certified, but her training in Africa, as well as in Springfield, put her on the right path. Her time as an intern at Mercy Kids Children’s Hospital August-December 2019 was especially rewarding, she said.

“My experiences as an intern have shaped me into the professional I am now,” Pipkins says.

A few of Pipkins’ duties during her internship included:

  • Providing education, preparation and distraction for patients undergoing procedure.
  • Providing play opportunities to patients to normalize hospital settings.
  • Extending support to families by listening.

It’s a job she took very seriously, Pipkins added. She liked how she could be her most authentic self at work, as well.

“Every patient, every experience, every game of UNO and every laugh made my time at Mercy exactly what it needed to be,” she said.

Pipkins and her coworkers dress up for Halloween.
Pipkins and her coworkers dressed up as the three-eyed aliens from “Toy Story” for Halloween.

Additionally, since Mercy Kids Children’s Hospital is attached to Mercy Hospital Springfield, for adults, Pipkins’ internship experience was unusual. She not only worked with children dealing with ailments — she helped children watch older loved ones combat illness and injury, too.

“That is not something students like me are exposed to often in a children-only hospital,” she says.

Almost There

As experienced as Pipkins is, graduation is still ahead of her. Today, Pipkins is living in St. Louis, taking a single online class as she concentrates on studying for her certification exam.

“I’m just taking it slow and steady while I search for jobs,” Pipkins says.

In the meantime, she’s reflective of the tasks she’s already accomplished — and the patients she’s already served.

“Of course, there are a lot of behind-the-scenes things that get done when child life specialists aren’t working with patients, but I’ve learned they are always our top priority,” Pipkins says. “Patients in need always come first.”

Filed Under: Child Life Studies, COE Students, Graduate Program Tagged With: child life specialist, CLS, Grace Pipkins, internship

Stories of Healing in the Aftermath of Hurricane Dorian

December 5, 2019 by Abigail Blaes

Cara Smith with her team

In the wake of a disaster, there’s confusion. There’s fear. There’s grief. It can be nearly impossible for any person to process. 

For children, the trauma of a disaster can feel even more confusing and upsetting. 

According to NBC News, Hurricane Dorian was the most intense hurricane on record to hit the Bahamas. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. Dozens of deaths have been reported and hundreds are still missing. 

Amid all this chaos and fear, groups of people gather from around the world to help. Cara Smith, child life clinical instructor at Missouri State, was one of those people. 

Cara Smith plays with puppets with a young girl

About Child Life Disaster Relief 

Smith went to the Bahamas with the nonprofit organization Child Life Disaster Relief. This organization sends child life specialists like Smith to places affected by disasters.  

These specialists integrate into the affected communities and help them find normalcy once again. 

“What we do is really just providing the tools to the kids,” Smith said. “We create a safe place for them to play out their experiences. Often times, as adults, our perception of what may be traumatic or what was challenging for them can be different than what a child is experiencing.” 

This is why the child life specialists support children through directed playtime. In other words, the specialists are there to provide a familiar way for children to express themselves. It’s a comfortable outlet for the kids to start processing what they experienced. 

There were three child life specialists first sent to the Bahamas; Smith was the leader of the group. 

Cara and her team on the beach in the Bahamas
Cara (middle) and her team

In the Bahamas 

Smith and her team were directed to the island of Nassau. Nassau wasn’t severely impacted by the hurricane initially. However, it became the safe haven for those displaced by Hurricane Dorian. This is where Smith’s team began their work. 

Their first stop was a gymnasium with over 1,200 people living in it. Around 200 of them were children.  

“The first day we walked into that gym and the kids saw we had toys, it was like the masses erupted,” Smith said. “They had nothing, and this was something we could give them.” 

The toys were a gateway to creating connections with the kids. 

“I think sometimes, when people think of supporting kids in disaster situations, what they’re looking for is a smiley, happy ending,” Smith said. “But that’s not what we really have to do. We have to create space for whatever they’re feeling and tell them it’s okay to scream and cry. We just have to be there.” 

Stories of healing 

Smith recounted some of the stories that most impacted her during her time working with the children affected by Hurricane Dorian. 

We had a music therapist with us who was amazing. She did some songwriting with some of the kids. Of the group, several of them were teenage boys. They had a difficult time naming the things that they were feeling. One of the boys said that he thought the hurricane was funny. Clearly, this was his way of not really connecting fully to what he was really feeling.  

As the songwriting exercise continued, he started to open up about his best friend that he hasn’t heard from since the hurricane. He doesn’t know if she’s just lost her phone or if she’s dead. He starts to pour his heart out about it. He wrote this song called Depression Dorian.  

He talked about depression and how it comes into your life, and it steals all that you have and everyone you love. And it came from this kid who had been sitting there calling the hurricane funny. He was now at this point where he was able to pour his heart out about what it really meant for him. 

Smith shared more about her reaction to helping the kids process these experiences. 

“You have a certain circle of control,” Smith said. “There are these huge needs in these communities, and you want to fix everything. But you can only control this small amount. So, you focus on your own little circle of control and allow that to trickle out to other people.” 

She shared another story that impacted her. 

I was water-coloring with a girl one day, and I told her she could paint whatever she wanted. She started to draw some dinosaur feet. And she’s painting and enjoying herself. And I’m not an art therapist. I wasn’t there to interpret what she was drawing, but if she wanted to share about it, I was there for that. 

When she’s finished her picture, she wrote on the side “love you all” and then at the top she wrote “miss you.” I asked if her “miss you” was for someone special. And she said, “Yeah, it’s for my grandpa.” 

And then she said, “He died,” and she just curled up and started crying. A lot of the kids felt like the tears weren’t okay. I don’t know if it was a cultural thing, but I sat there with her and let her cry. Other kids walked up and were asking why she was crying. 

I just said, “It’s because she’s got sadness. Sadness has to find its way out.” And then the other kids had this realization that it was okay to cry. Later on after the little girl had kind of moved on, she came up to me and gave me a big hug. She didn’t say anything. Just gave me a really big hug.  

It was just so rewarding to be able to give these kids a place to express their emotions, to give them a safe place to cry. 

Filed Under: Child Life Studies, COE Faculty Tagged With: child development

Online master’s in child development ranked among the best

May 17, 2019 by Abigail Blaes

COE Master's child development

Online Schools Report recognized Missouri State University’s master’s in child development program as one of the top 10 in the nation.

About the ranking

Missouri State ranked eighth on the list.

MSU was noted for its personalized degree construction. Individuals in the program have the opportunity to choose a third of their classes based on personal interest.

The program’s reputation, student satisfaction and 100% self-pacing of the program were all listed as contributing factors to the ranking.

How the ranking is determined

The Online Schools Report uses a variety of data sources to develop the rankings. The criteria for this ranking includes:

  • Acceptance rates
  • Earning potential
  • Online presence
  • Online program quality
  • Retention
  • Student satisfaction
  • Reputation

MSU was also recognized for having their program completely accessible online.

Filed Under: Child Life Studies, Early Childhood and Family Development Tagged With: child development, Graduate Program

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