Facts In Action

This article submitted by Jean Ciborowski Fahey, Ph.D

Literacy learning begins in the home, in infancy, as the baby distinguishes the rhythms and sounds of the language spoken by the important people around him or her. What better place, then, than the birthing place to begin to talk with parents about preparing our children to be successful readers?

In 2000, South Shore Hospital in Weymouth began a unique program: The South Shore Hospital Reading Partnership. As the birthplace of 4,200 babies annually, the hospital seeks to promote literacy - beginning at birth - as a way to address the persistently high number of children who experience early reading difficulties. The program is grounded in the knowledge that the baby's brain has an enormous capacity to transform in response to its early environment.

Based on the openness for learning among parents-to-be and the breakthrough science in what forms the foundation for reading, the hospital offers the following seminars/ trainings both on its Weymouth campus and in satellite locations elsewhere in the region:

• Promoting Literacy Beginning at Birth, for parents-to-be and caregivers of infants/toddlers
• Mom and Me & Literacy, for parents/ caregivers of older toddlers and their toddlers
• Early Literacy screening (for adults and preschoolers together) This program assists adults in screening their children using an on-line, research-based early literacy screening tool from the National Center for Learning Disabilities. The screening is not intended to diagnose children with learning problems. Rather, it identifies those preschoolers who may benefit from more frequent literacy activities during their kindergarten year and helps us intervene earlier and more intensely for those children who continue to struggle. Most often, however, the screening reassures parents that their child is getting ready to read.

In addition, the hospital builds bridges with local day care providers, centers and preschools to share this information. The program is staffed by the hospital's executive director of pediatrics, Michael McManus, MD, and an early learning and reading specialist, Jean Ciborowski Fahey, Ph.D. For more information call (781) 340-4331 or email Jean_Fahey@sshosp.org.

Facts in Action, July/August 2003