Texas Center for Proton Therapy child life specialist Laura Drap shares perspectives on her role and the healing power of play. Read more below.
Radiation and proton therapy may be the appropriate treatment for certain pediatric tumors, but we understand it can seem overwhelming for children and their families. At Texas Center for Proton Therapy, our full time child life specialist works alongside the medical team to help alleviate the stress and anxiety often associated with illness and medical procedures while promoting positive coping throughout the treatment process.
Child life specialists are experts in child development and work closely with children of all ages by providing developmentally appropriate interventions to help prepare for medical procedures and cope with the treatment process. Through the use of play, medical play, and expressive activities, our child life specialist helps children and teenagers understand their illness and medical procedures and develop positive coping skills. We recognize that children are not just smaller adults, and our child life specialist works alongside the medical team throughout the treatment process to provide the very best care to help meet the unique and special needs of our pediatric patients.
Our facility houses some of the nation’s most experienced radiation cancer specialists and sophisticated proton technology in three treatment rooms called Hope, Courage, and Strength. Join us for an up-close, interactive exploration of one of our rooms.
