Empowering Patients and Families Through Reading

Learning how to read is a pivotal point in childhood development. Incorporating reading into a family’s daily routine helps with brain development and fosters an emotional relationship between children and their caregivers. Pediatric healthcare workers can help promote healthy reading habits by educating and assisting their patients and families at their pediatric well visits. 

Listen to pediatric experts discuss early childhood literacy

In this episode, Michelle Shiffman, MD, joins us to discuss approaches that help families integrate reading into their home lives. 

Dr. Shiffman is the Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Colorado, a nonprofit organization that helps equip families and pediatric practices with the tools and information they need to make reading aloud a daily routine. Dr. Shiffman is also a pediatrician at Denver Health.

In this episode, we discuss:

• An overview of Reach Out and Read
• Evidence-based research for early childhood literacy
• How the program is addressing diversity, health equity and inclusion
• How providers can prescribe “doses of literacy”
• The early relational health framework
• Resources for children with learning disabilities
• How to implement the program in your own practice