About Devin Van Cleave Capasse

Hi, I’m Devin! I am an Auburn University Alumni and soon-to-be Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). My passion for medicine and pediatrics first began as a young child and only grew as I became older and matured. From the age of two years old, I decided I wanted to be a doctor. When I was eight I was reading my mom’s old microbiology textbooks “just for fun,” and when I turned nine, I had a typed Word document detailing just exactly how and when I would be accepted into The John Hopkins University School of Medicine. I was ambitious, to say the least, and was set on going medical school just as soon as I could get the chance.

However, during my years getting my undergraduate degree, I discovered the world of child life and learned that there was a profession that allowed you to have a personal relationship with patients and their families. I learned that with every bad day and good report, a Child Life Specialist is able to be with the patient and actively providing opportunities to allow them to cope and grow in a hospital environment. I quickly decided: Child Life is where I needed to be.

I come from a complex background of a love for both science and music. Within my academic career of majoring in Human Development, I also pursued a minor in Community Music Education in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching in the College of Education to compliment my career in medicine. Music forces one's mind to be focused and at the top of their game. In order to learn a musical piece, you must let your creativity overwhelm you and your patience must abound.

You must be precise in the way you perform, and gentle with yourself when you make mistakes. It is my hope that I am able to transfer my understanding of music to my career in medicine and generate a catalytic learning environment for both myself, my colleagues, and also my patients.

Along with trying to solve all of the world's problems, I also enjoy spending time with family and friends and relaxing at the beach whenever I can. I can't start my morning without a cup of coffee and no, Starbucks does not count. Diving with great white sharks is at the very top of my bucket list and sometimes I eat cookies for dinner. I am now referred to as the "Family Child Life Specialist," and whether it's while getting their ears pierced or getting allergy tested, I frequently tag along with family members to cheer them on during doctor or hospital visits.

If you'd like to learn more about my story of why I switched from medicine to child life, I have written my story for both the Child Life Cooperative and the Florida Association of Child Life Professionals. Click on the links below to read!

FACLP - Fight For Something that You're Not

Child Life Cooperative - Freed from Other’s Expectations: Why I’m a CCLS, not a MD

Advocate • Empower • Transform

Child Life Philosophy

I believe that the role of a child life specialist is to empower and champion for patients during vulnerable times of a child’s and family’s life, and to create a medically healing environment through education and play that gives individuals and families the reassurance that they are in control of their own choices. There are many services that fall under the description of being a child life specialist, but keeping a balance between play, education, emotional expression, coping skills, and preparation based on each patient’s unique story is key in creating an environment that is conducive to healing.

Many specialists view their inability to constantly be with their patients and provide support as a weakness or flaw in our medical system. However, I view it as an opportunity to scaffold patients and families in appropriate ways which will allow them to eventually be able to advocate for themselves and make use of effective coping skills when a child life specialist is not around. Unlike the dependency that patients must have on doctors and nurses to safely get them through surgery or to give them the right dosage of medication, child life grants individuals the freedom of building skills that they can take with them anywhere.

Going through pain and discomfort is unavoidable in the world that we live in, but how we react and allow that discomfort to affect us can be minimized through positive experiences. I will utilize my expertise in child development, education, animal assisted therapy, emotional expression through music, and family-centered care to provide appropriate interventions and to effectively meet each child’s psychosocial, emotional, physical, and developmental needs.

Parents are the true experts in the field of their child’s development and through my experience in family and parent education, I strive to uphold the cultural, religious, and traditional values of each family through helping them learn how they can best support their children.

I believe that play acts as an innate, therapeutic coping mechanism that both children and adults alike should be exposed to. I am committed to providing the highest quality of care and to building intentional relationships with families in the hospital. Knowing that I am the one that holds the tools to help transform a child’s life in a positive way will continue to fuel my work and motivate me to never stop cheering families on, even after they reach the finish line.