Friday, October 2nd, 2026
7:30am-5:00pm
Carmen's Event Centre Hamilton
Registration Now Open!
Hosted by the Child Life Department at McMaster Children’s Hospital, the McMaster Child Life Symposium is a bi-annual professional event for Child Life Specialists and students. The goal of the symposium is to give attendees the opportunity to connect and network with peers and colleagues from across the country, earn credits towards professional development, and to learn valuable skills and new information relevant to the child life profession.
Sharing Stations
AN OPPORTUNITY TO NETWORK & CONNECT
We know that many of our attendees have excellent insight to share that may not require a full presentation. Sharing stations are an informal opportunity to share or highlight an area of their child life practice. This may include a teaching tool, intervention, resource, or new development in research. We are open to your ideas and suggestions of what you would like to share.
AGENDA
7:30
Registration and Healthy Breakfast
8:15
Welcome
8:30
Ceilidh Eaton-Russell
Taking them seriously: Exploring children’s questions about life, death and everything in between
10:00
Break
10:15
Nate Seroski
Supporting Children and youth with needles using trauma informed principles
12:15
Lunch, Networking and Sharing Stations
1:30
Kayla Slegers & Erika Clements
Youth ACT: Leading an Innovative and Multidisciplinary Approach to Adult Care Transitions
2:30
Natalie Wilson & Akila Dada
The Power of Partnership: Advancing Child Life Cardiac Support Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration
3:30
Break
3:45
Wren Puckett & Cristina Chandri
The Numbing Effect: Bias, cultural expression & children’s pain
11:15
Kim Courtney
Untangling System Misalignment in Child Life: A Practitioner Research Engagement Lab
4:45
Closing and Evaluations
SUMMARY OF PRESENTATIONS
CONTACT
