Ways to Play and Learn With My Special Aflac Duck®

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

The journey after a cancer diagnosis often involves juggling schedules, managing treatment plans and trying to glean as much information from health care providers as possible — not to mention the emotions that one must process. Simply put: It can be a lot to manage. You can probably multiply that by 10 when it involves a child.

That’s one reason why Aflac created My Special Aflac Duck® — first and foremost, it’s a comforting companion for children ages 3 and over facing cancer or sickle cell disease. It’s also designed to be a helpful tool for communication for children, parents and caregivers during what can be, for many, a time of stress. In fact, My Special Aflac Duck was recently the focus of a three-year clinical study spearheaded by researchers at Emory University and conducted at eight hospitals across the country. The study, which included 160 patients, their families and health care professionals, was released in April, showing that My Special Aflac Duck helps pediatric patients with cancer cope with treatment-related distress and anxiety.

The My Special Aflac Duck program is more than just a cuddly robot — it also comes with a suite of resources to help provide education, comfort and joy throughout the treatment process. In fact, with the help of the My Special Aflac Duck creators, Empath Labs, Aflac recently expanded their online Resource Hub, which now includes:

• Ways to play: This outlines all of the functions and features of My Special Aflac Duck and the app; facilitation cards for meditation, communication, medical play, etc.; and printable activities designed for play, relationship-building, empowerment and mindfulness — they also help provide distraction in busy environments.
• Information for medical professionals: Health care providers can review interactive use case guides to explore how My Special Aflac Duck can be used in different settings.
• FAQs and other support: This section provides answers to commonly asked questions and helps point readers in the right direction for more information.

My Special Aflac Duck is a robotic and cherished companion that uses medical play and realistic motions, and it emulates emotions to interact with children as they navigate their cancer or sickle cell disease journey.

As part of Aflac's commitment to children and families facing pediatric cancer and blood disorders — one that spans nearly three decades and more than $184 million — the company has given, free of charge, more than 32,000 My Special Aflac Ducks to children with cancer or sickle cell in the United States, Japan and Northern Ireland.

Learn more about Aflac’s commitment to children with cancer and blood disorders at MySpecialAflacDuck.com.

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