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Karyn Positano

Karyn Positano

Certified Child Life Specialist, Hospital For Sick Children
EducationMSc, BAA (1997), RECE, CCLS

Biography:

Karyn is a graduate of the Early Childhood Education program and is a certified child life specialist currently working in the Haematology/Oncology clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children. As a child life specialist, she uses developmental and psychosocial theory to guide her work in addressing stress and anxiety related to hospitalization. She is passionate about providing play opportunities to educate and enhance coping strategies for all children who are receiving treatment. 

Her days at work can involve helping children develop coping strategies for imminent procedures, facilitating medical play and providing developmentally appropriate information about illness and/or treatment. She has recently become involved with facilitating different online support groups for children and teens involved in the clinic and has been lucky to be able to collaborate with different professionals in both the design and the facilitation of these groups.  

She has presented both locally and internationally on different aspects of the child life profession, the most recent being on the use of technology and other methods of distraction to enhance coping among children undergoing medical procedures. She has also been able to travel to both Qatar and China where she consulted on the implementation of child life practices in local hospitals. Finally, Karyn has been a volunteer with the Association of Child Life Professionals for the past 6 years, much of this time has been spent on the Child Life Certification Commission where she has had different roles involved with the maintenance of the child life certification exam.

Karyn valued her time at the School of Early Childhood Studies, especially her placement experiences. Placement allowed her to try new things, strengthen her communication skills, and it enabled her to put theoretical knowledge into practice. It was through placements where Karyn was able to find out what areas of ECE intrigued her most (such as child life!). The program helped her gain the confidence to pursue a post-graduate education which helped her to further her studies in child development. Finally, she valued the guidance and expertise she was exposed to by the professors in every class.