Reach Out and Read-Alabama Launches Summer Campaign and Celebrates 10 Years of Stories

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Jul 18 2016 9:30 PM

(DOTHAN, Ala.) July 18, 2016 – Reach Out and Read-Alabama pediatric practices and clinics will celebrate 10 years of stories this summer with How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday?. In the last 10 years, pediatric healthcare providers have prescribed over 1.6 million brand-new books to the state’s youngest and most underserved children. This June, the early literacy program launched its seventh-annual summer campaign that promotes families reading together. Copies of the book will be distributed by pediatric healthcare providers statewide, who will also talk to parents about reading together daily and becoming involved in the summer reading program at their local library.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday? activities sponsored by Dothan Pediatric Clinic are being held at the practice on Thursday, July 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.  Activities will include a Dyno-Mite birthday party with cupcakes, Dex the T-Rex lifelike dinosaur, and a reading of the book by Dr. Michelle Freeman.

This year's book, How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague, is being used in conjunction with the Rx for Summer Reading campaign at local libraries. Thanks to Alabama Public Television’s project funded by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, American Graduate, the Birmingham Public Library has teamed up with Reach Out and Read-Alabama once again to provide Reach Out and Read-Alabama practices and clinics across the state with prescription pads, posters and books to promote summer reading.

“Prescribing a book during each check-up gives us the opportunity to connect with parents and create a partnership in the lifelong journey of learning for their child. What’s even better is that new studies are documenting the effectiveness of the unexpectedly complex interactions that occur when you put a small child on your lap and open a picture book,” said Michelle Freeman, MD, Reach Out and Read medical coordinator for Dothan Pediatric Healthcare Network.

The Reach Out and Read evidence-based program builds on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers to develop critical early reading skills in children, beginning in infancy. As recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Reach Out and Read incorporates early literacy into pediatric practice, equipping parents with tools and knowledge to ensure that their children are prepared to learn when they start school. The program is an effective intervention because parents trust and value the advice they receive from their child's medical provider. During regular, one-on-one visits with the doctor, families grow to understand the powerful and important role they play in supporting their children’s development.  Parents gain the confidence and skills that enable them to support early language and literacy at home.

Currently, 60 of Alabama’s pediatric practices and clinics serve as Reach Out and Read-Alabama program sites in 30 counties, which serve 40 percent of the state’s children under the age of five. According to 2015 Alabama Kids Count Data, 34 percent of children under the age of five live in single parent families and almost 27 percent live in poverty. Programs such as Reach Out and Read-Alabama are vital in providing hope to these struggling families through the stories of brand-new books prescribed by their medical provider. Dothan Pediatric Clinic celebrates 13 years as a Reach Out and Read program site this month and prescribes over 6,700 books each year.

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