2014-2015 ANNUAL REPORT

REACH OUT AND READ INCLUDES
SERVING CHILDREN STARTING IN
INFANCY TO SIX MONTHS
Right from birth babies are looking, listening and learning,
So find, and enjoy, those everyday moments when you can
talk, sing, read and play with your baby every day.
Advances in our understanding of early childhood development over the last 25 years have
shown that it is essential to encourage parents to engage with their infants right from the
early days.
In June, 2015, Reach Out and Read Medical Advisors urged our network of doctors to start
discussing with parents the importance of talking, singing, reading and playing with their
babies as early as the newborn visit. This brings us into alignment with the American Academy
of Pediatrics policy statement, written by Reach Out and Read doctors Pam High and Perri
Klass, that recommends pediatric providers promote reading aloud to children starting in
infancy.
EXPANDING OUR PROGRAM
A generous grant from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation is supporting our efforts to reach more
children, starting in the earliest days of life.
We want Reach Out and Read providers
to use the formative early [well-child]
visits in the most helpful, practical,
developmentally appropriate, supportive
ways, helping parents develop the
responsive, positive, language-rich
interactions, which should surround
babies from the very beginning.
DEVELOPING
AND PILOTING
OUR EARLY MATH
INITIATIVE
As with early literacy, many parents do
not realize the powerful impact that early
exposure to math concepts can have on their
children’s academic futures. By incorporating
early math concepts into our researchbased
intervention, we are providing a new
approach for doctors to support parents
in helping their children develop the
foundational math and pre-reading concepts
needed for academic success.
With the support of the Heising-Simons
Foundation, this year we developed and
piloted our Early Math Initiative. Pediatricians
are introducing early math themes at
medical checkups, using children’s books as
a unique, approachable, and effective tool.
Overall, parents were very
receptive to the message
of early math and felt more
confident that they could help
their children, despite barriers
such as a lack of formal
education and not being fluent
in English.
- Reach Out and Read Provider
- Perri Klass, Reach Out and Read
National Medical Director
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