2027 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 22-24, 2027 • Bellevue, WA
3/17/2026 | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Reducing Anxiety in Pediatric Healthcare: The Role of Adaptive Care Plans and Interprofessional Collaboration | City Terrace 9
Reducing Anxiety in Pediatric Healthcare: The Role of Adaptive Care Plans and Interprofessional Collaboration
An adaptive care plan (ACP) is an individualized, patient-centered document developed for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities who may have difficulty coping or cooperating in healthcare settings. ACPs are created collaboratively with families and the healthcare team to outline strategies, supports, and accommodations that reduce stress and improve care experiences.
At UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Child Life Specialists play a central role in the interprofessional adaptive care team. As certified members of the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP), they are trained in child development and child life practice and help patients and families prepare for medical experiences. Child Life Specialists gather information on a child’s preferred communication style, sensory differences, and past medical encounters, which is then documented in the child’s electronic medical record for use across healthcare visits.
Audiologists are key members of the adaptive care team, as approximately 25% of children seen by audiologists present with a developmental disability, and 10% have diagnoses such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, or intellectual disability (Bonino et al., 2024). Many of these children also experience co-occurring hearing loss, making audiologists among the first providers they encounter.
Collaboration between Child Life Specialists and audiologists ensures that ACPs are developed early, are relevant to each child’s needs, and effectively reduce anxiety during healthcare visits. By integrating family input with professional expertise, ACPs support more positive healthcare experiences for children with developmental disabilities while fostering interprofessional teamwork across disciplines.
This presentation will introduce attendees to adaptive care plans, explain what they are and why they may be created, describe the roles of interprofessional team members, and outline how ACPs are developed and used in healthcare visits.
- The participant will be able to define an adaptive care plan and list at least two reasons it may be created for a child with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
- The participant will be able to list the steps involved in developing an adaptive care plan and state at least two ways it is applied during a healthcare visit scenario.
- The participant will be able to list key members on the adaptive care team and match each member with their primary roles and responsibilities.
Presentation:
View Presentation File
Handouts:
View Handout File
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Katie Vellody
(Primary Presenter), UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh & University of Pittsburgh, LEND, katie.vellody@pitt.edu;
Katie Vellody is adjunct faculty in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She is also a clinical pediatric audiologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Ms. Vellody’s responsibilities include clinical, academic, and research. Ms. Vellody is a clinical instructor in the Preschool Hearing and Speech Education – University of Pittsburgh (PHASE UP) Clinic. The PHASE UP clinic collaborates with over 40 schools in the surrounding Pittsburgh area to provide evidenced based preventative care and screening to the preschool and school age populations. In the PHASE UP clinic, she oversees all 1st year audiology (AuD) and speech language pathology (SLP) graduate students in the administration of preschool & school age hearing screening protocols. Other clinical responsibilities include providing free audiological hearing care to adults residing in Pittsburgh regions of Homewood & East Hills at the Wellness Pavilion Community Engagement Center – University of Pittsburgh. Ms. Vellody teaches two academic graduate level courses to both SLP and AuD graduate students in the fall and spring terms. She is the audiology LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) faculty for the University of Pittsburgh and participates as LEND faculty in the CARES (Connection, Advocacy, Resources, Empowerment and Support) program, a free family centered program to help children and young adults with neurodevelopmental and related disorders, and their families meet their goals. Ms. Vellody’s research interests include pediatric hearing health preventative care and peer assisted learning (PAL) in graduate level health science programs.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from University of Pittsburgh.
• Receives Salary for Employment from UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with University of Pittsburgh, School of Health & Communication Sciences
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Nature: Adjunct Faculty - University of Pittsburgh
Pediatric Audiologist - UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Alanna Kanawalsky
(Co-Presenter), UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Alanna.Kanawalsky@chp.edu;
Alanna Kanawalsky, MS, CCLS is a certified child life specialist with over 15 years of experience at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SUNY Buffalo and completed her master’s degree in Applied Developmental Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Since joining the child life department in 2008, Alanna has provided support across a variety of clinical areas including the emergency department, same-day surgery, inpatient adolescent units, and the NICU.
In her current philanthropy-funded role as Lead Child Life Specialist, Alanna is spearheading efforts to enhance the patient experience for neurodivergent children through the development and expansion of the hospital’s Adaptive Care Team (ACT). She also serves as co-chair of a national Adaptive Care affinity group representing 18 children’s hospitals across the country. Through this role, Alanna brings cutting-edge resources, insights, and techniques back to UPMC Children’s, continually advancing inclusive care practices for all patients
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.