Gail Sherman is the grandmother of a child with autism.  For years, she found it difficult to read books aloud to her grandson because of his short attention span.  Then a pediatrician gave her a copy of the new Developmental Disabilities Literacy Promotion Guide developed by Reach Out and Read, the nationwide school readiness initiative.  After reading the handout on children with autism spectrum disorders , Gail began reading to her grandson in much shorter sessions and she introduced her grandson to new books with pictures of babies' faces to help him to better understand emotions.

“It’s wonderful to have doctors encourage parents and grandparents to read aloud, since it is an enjoyable activity that benefits both the adult and the child.  And these handouts, while acknowledging that we may need to make accommodations, focus on the pleasure of sharing books-something all children enjoy.” 

The Developmental Disabilities Literacy Promotion Guide was created by Dr. Monica Ultmann, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and director of the Center for Children with Special Needs at Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, along with Dr. Perri Klass, pediatrician and national medical director of the Reach Out and Read Program, and Dr. Robert Needleman, also a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and the co-founder of Reach Out and Read.  Drs. Ultmann, Klass and Needleman worked with the national staff of the pediatric literacy program to create handouts for parents of children with disabilities on the importance of book sharing and establishing reading aloud as a daily routine.

Dr. Ultmann, who helped Reach Out and Read become a standard part of medical care in St. Louis area hospitals and clinics, saw the need for materials that are specifically for families of children with special needs. “While children with disabilities have the same needs as other children -- to be cuddled and given attention that does not have a medical focus -- we do have a responsibility to give families the tools to make book sharing as easy as possible -- be it suggesting books with Velcro straps attached or how to position a child in a wheelchair so he can enjoy the book with a parent.”

The guide takes into consideration the particular needs of children with disabilities when providing guidance about reading developmentallynappropriate books. 

Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based, nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Reach Out and Read builds on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers to develop critical early reading skills in children, beginning at 6 months of age. Fourteen research studies demonstrate that the 4 million families served annually by Reach Out and Read read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten better prepared to succeed, with larger vocabularies, stronger language skills, and a six-month developmental edge over their peers.

Until recently, Reach Out and Read handled literacy-related questions from pediatricians working with children with disabilities on a case-by-case basis.

“Now we have materials for general pediatricians on how to offer literacy guidance to all children and handouts for families with children who have special needs,” said Director of Training and Program Quality Barbara Ducharme, who worked extensively on the project with Drs. Ultmann and Klass.  “We are very excited to be starting our trial testing of the material, and we look forward to the input we will receive from the dozens of hospitals and clinics involved in the initial use of the Developmental Disabilities Literacy Promotion Guide.”

The guide provides reading tips, recommended books, and literacy milestones for children with seven different disabilities:

·         Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

·         Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

·         Cerebral Palsy (CP)

·         Hearing Loss

·         Intellectual Disabilities

·         Speech and Language Problems

·         Vision Loss

The guide was developed with the support of CVS Caremark All Kids Can, a program of the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust.   Reach Out and Read is currently piloting the materials at community hospitals and clinics in Kansas City, Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Once the pilot process is complete, Reach Out and Read will incorporate suggestions and feedback from medical providers and families into the guide.  After that, the Developmental Disabilities Literacy Promotion Guide will be made available to all 4,600 Reach Out and Read Programs nationwide.  Downloadable versions will also be available on the Reach Out and Read website.