REACH OUT AND READ: Preparing America’s Youngest Children to Succeed in School

The program was developed by pediatricians and early childhood educators to make literacy promotion a part of regular pediatric check-ups. It is well-known that early language skills are based primarily on language exposure…talking, singing, and reading to children. Currently in Austin, our pediatric residents train and participate in the Reach Out and Read Program at the community health clinics. Both the Dell Children's Express, a mobile health clinic, run by Marilyn Doyle, MD and Lisa Butterworth, MD in the Lone Star Circle of Care Clinic in north Austin also participate in this program. There also is discussion about implementing the program in hospitalized children through the Childlife Program and the pediatric residents at Dell Children's Hospital. Research findings from 14 published peer review studies demonstrate that Reach Out and Read works!

The program is the cost of the books which is $50 per child for 10 books. The goal of Reach Out and Read is to insure that physicians and nurses give literacy related advice in children's books as routinely as immunizations at pediatric check-ups.

Enclosed in pdf for photocopying and distributing at check-ups are:

• Developmental milestones of early literacy from 6 months to 3+ years in English and Spanish
• Reading Rocket Tips... Handouts for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and 1-3 graders in English and Spanish

All the materials may be copied and distributed at well-checks.

If you want to have a Reach Out and Read program implemented in your office, contact Jan Stone at Jan.stone@bookspring.org

Additionally if you or any of your parents would like to donate and sponsor an underprivileged child, this may be done at www.bookspring.org

Bookspring also takes gently used books to give to children in daycare and school situations who do not have books at home. There is also a poster in the pdf files that you can place in your office to solicit those gently used books. Our very own Lynn Thoreson, MD, former Dell Children's Hospital Chief Resident, is currently on the Bookspring Board that sponsors the Reach Out and Read program. Feel free to contact her if you have any additional ideas regarding promotion of early literacy.

Thank you in advance for your support of this worthy initiative!