Expressions of children who have life-threatening illnesses are revealed in their art that provides a way for adults to know how they are experiencing their world. The language of children is unsophisticated; however, they speak meaningfully through their drawings. Children use symbols and images to represent elements in circumstances they are trying to understand. The purpose of this article is to show how the drawings of children with life-threatening illnesses who had special wishes fulfilled reveal meaning that translates into holistic practices.
American Holistic Nurses Association/American Nurses Association. (2007). Holistic Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association.
2.
Bernstein, R.J. (1991). Beyond objectivism and relativism: Science, hermeneutics, and praxis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
3.
Bjork, M., Wiebe, T., & Hallstrom, I. (2005). Striving to survive: Families' lived experiences when a child is diagnosed with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 22, 265-275.
4.
Bluebond-Langner, M. (1978). The private worlds of dying children. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
5.
Burkhardt, M.A., & Nagai-Jacobson, M.G. (2005). Spirituality and health . In B. M. Dossey, L. Keegan, & C. E. Guzzetta , (Eds.), Holistic nursing: A handbook for nursing practice (4th ed., pp. 137-172). Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
6.
Cameron C.O., Juszczak, L., & Wallace, N. (1984). Using creative arts to help children cope with altered body image. Children's Health Care, 12(3), 108-112.
7.
Davies, B., Collins, J.B., Steele, R., Pipke, I., & Cook, K. (2004). The impact on families of a children's hospice program. Journal of Palliative Care, 19, 15-26.
8.
Davies, B., & Connoughty, S. (2002). Pediatric end-of-life care: Lessons learned from parents. Journal of Nursing Administration , 32, 5-6.
9.
Diekelmann, N.L., & Ironside, P.M. (1999). Hermeneutics. In J. Fitzpatrick (Ed.), Nursing Research Digest (pp. 33-35). New York: Springer.
10.
Di Leo, J.H. (1973). Children's drawings as diagnostic aids. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
11.
Dossey, B.M., & Guzzetta, C.E. (2005). Holistic nursing practice . In B. M. Dossey, L. Keegan, & C. E. Guzzetta , (Eds.), Holistic nursing: A handbook for nursing practice (4th ed., pp. 5-30). Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
12.
Ewing, B. (2007). Wish fulfillment for children with life-threatening illnesses [Monograph]. In N. Johnston & A. Scholler-Jaquish (Eds.), Meaning in suffering: Caring practices in healthcare and the human sciences (Vol. 6, pp. 186-231). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
13.
Feeg, V.D. (2005). Finding your voice for pediatric palliative care . Pediatric Nursing, 31, 162, 236.
14.
Feudtner, C., Feinstein, J.A., Satchell, M., Zhao, H., & Kang, T.I. (2007). Shifting place of death among children with complex chronic conditions in the United States, 1989-2003. Journal of the American Medical Association, 297, 2725-2732.
15.
Field, M. J., & Berman, R. (Eds.). (2003). When children die: Improving palliative and end-of-life care for children and their families. Committee on Palliative Care and End of Life for Children and Their Families . Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
16.
Freyer, D.R. (2004). Care of the dying adolescent: Special considerations . Pediatrics, 113, 381-388.
17.
Furman, J. (2000). Taking a holistic approach to the dying time. Nursing, 30, 46-49.
18.
Gadamer, H.G. (1988). On the circle of understanding. In J. M. Connolly & T. Keutner (Eds.), Hermeneutics versus sciences? Essays by H.-G. Gadamer, E. K. Specht, W. Stegmuller (pp. 68-78). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame.
19.
Gadamer, H.G. (1900/2003). Truth and method (2nd ed., J. Weinsheimer & D. G. Marshall, Trans. Rev.). New York: Continuum. (Original work published in 1960)
20.
Garbarino, F., Stott, M., & Faculty of the Erikson Institute. (1992). What children can tell us. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
21.
Giovanola, J. (2005). Sibling involvement at the end of life. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 22, 222-226.
22.
Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time ( J. MacQuarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. (Original work published in 1927)
23.
Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology. In the question concerning technology and other essays (W. Lovitt, Trans., pp. 3-35). New York: Harper & Row.
24.
Heidegger, M. (1993). The origin of the work of art. In D. F. Krell (Ed.), Martin Heidegger: Basic writings (A. Hofstadter, Trans., pp. 143-203). San Francisco : Harper. (Original work published in 1960)
25.
Hinds, P. (2004). The hopes and wishes of adolescents with cancer and the nursing care that helps. Oncology Nursing Forum, 31, 927-934.
26.
Kübler-Ross, E. (1983). On children and death. New York: Macmillan.
27.
Make-A-Wish Foundation® of America. (2006). Retrieved April 28, 2007, from http://www.wish.org/
Pao, M., Ballard, E.D., & Rosenstein, D.L. (2007). Growing up in the hospital . Journal of the American Medical Association, 297, 2753-2755.
30.
Piaget, J. (2001). The Language and thought of the child (3rd ed.). Boston: Routledge Kegan Paul.
31.
Rollins, J.A. (2003). New initiatives in end-of-life care. Pediatric Nursing, 22, 292-293.
32.
Rollins, J.A. (2005). Tell me about it: Drawing as a communication tool for children with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing , 22, 203-221.
33.
Schaub, B.G., & Dossey, B.M. (2005). Imagery: Awakening the inner healer. In B. M. Dossey, L. Keegan , & C. E. Guzzetta (Eds.), Holistic nursing: A handbook for nursing practice (4th ed., pp. 5-30). Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
34.
Skybo, T., Ryan-Wenger, N.R., & Su, Y. (2007). Human figure drawings as a measure of children's emotional status: Critical review for practice. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 22(1), 15-28.
35.
Updike, J. (1995). Introduction. In C. Yoe & M. Yoe (Eds.), The art of Mickey Mouse. New York: Hyperion.
36.
Wolfe, J.G., Grier, H.E., Klar, N., Levin, S.B., Ellenbogen, J.M., Salem-Schatz, S., et al. (2000). Symptoms and suffering at the end of life in children with cancer. Journal of the American Medical Association , 342, 326-333.
