Alexis Rhodes, MS, CCLS

Birth Doula | Certified Child Life Specialist | Founder, People Medicine LLC

Hello, SAME WAVE community! My name is Alexis Rhodes, and I am the Founder of People Medicine LLC, a private practice offering child life services in the Chicagoland area and beyond! 

For those of you unfamiliar with the role, Certified Child Life Specialists are professionals who are both educated on and clinically trained in the developmental impact of illness, injury, grief, bereavement, and trauma. While most commonly found in the pediatric healthcare environment, Certified Child Life Specialists work in a variety of settings to promote the adaptive coping of infants, children, and adolescents.

As experts in child development, Certified Child Life Specialists help families navigate a variety of medical experiences and other significant life events. Creating tailored interventions involving therapeutic play, developmentally appropriate education and preparation, memory making and legacy building, self-advocacy skills, and coping strategies galore, we meet families where they are, making life’s most challenging and impactful moments a little bit easier.

Having the privilege to have worked in a variety of both “traditional” and “non-traditional” settings throughout my career, I have seen firsthand the therapeutic value of play (with infants, children, and adolescents, alike) and its ability to transform even the most difficult moments into meaningful interactions filled with empowerment and connection. It was in seeing this impact on repeat throughout my work as a Certified Child Life Specialist that People Medicine LLC was created. Because medical diagnoses, healthcare experiences, grief, bereavement and major life transitions do not cease to impact families when they are no longer within the four walls of the hospital, and the support offered to those navigating these journeys should reflect that. 

As a Certified Child Life Specialist in private practice, I now have the privilege of meeting families exactly where they are – both literally and figuratively – in their journeys.

In the context of supporting families in the epilepsy community, child life services may include:

Diagnosis Education/Sibling Support
for children and adolescent:
* navigating their own epilepsy diagnosis
* coping with the epilepsy diagnosis of a loved one
(shout out to all of the amazing siblings who also deserve safe spaces to process, ask questions, and express themselves)

Procedural Preparation & Support
for children and adolescents navigating:
* blood draws
* imaging (EEG, MRI, PET, CT, etc.)
* surgery & MORE

Medication Adherence
for children and adolescents:
* navigating pill-swallowing (which can be TRICKY at first, and, let’s be real… nasty)
* learning a new medication regimen

School Re-Entry Services
for children and adolescents returning to school following:
* a new epilepsy diagnosis
* the epilepsy diagnosis of a loved one
* an impactful healthcare experience

Regardless of the specific service I’m providing, supporting and empowering families is truly at the heart of what I do as a Certified Child Life Specialist. 

Both as a professional and a fellow human, I am SO grateful to be a part of the SAME WAVE community and to bear witness to the ripple effect its creating. I would love to offer a 20% discount off first child life support sessions for families who reach out via this connection. Mention code: Ripple20 in your consult email when you fill out my connection form online.