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Ocala Star-Banner

Children get free books after doctor visits

April 26, 2008
Naseem S. Miller

BELLEVIEW — Helene Speziale opened the doors of the health clinic's brand-new book closet to pick out two books.

She scanned the neatly arranged rows.

What might a 7-year-old boy who doesn't like to stay still, and a 9-year-old girl who's wearing a princess tiara like to read, she wondered.

This was an exciting moment for Speziale, director of Marion County Health Department's branch clinics, including the one here in Belleview.

The clinic had recently gotten a grant from the Reach Out and Read program and can now give free books to children who have a check-up visit with the pediatrician.

"It's really a great program," Speziale said.

Reach Out and Read, or ROR, is a national nonprofit program that aims to make literacy a standard part of primary care. The program, which can be implemented in doctor's offices or clinics, is especially beneficial for families who have limited resources available to them.

Although Marion County Health Department's main branch in Ocala has had the program for three years, the Belleview clinic really needed one of its own.

With a wide range of programs, from adult health, to child health to WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), the clinic has many opportunities to reach out to children, most of whom are covered by the state Medicaid.

These are the same books that you can buy at a local bookstore, Speziale said. Except that many patients who visit the clinic usually don't have the luxury of buying new books or have limited transportation for regular trips to the local library.

So the little closet tucked in the small modular building of the Belleview Clinic, which recently got new floors, is valuable to dozens of children who walk in and out of the building every day.

The ROR program is aimed at children 6 months to 5 years of age. The books are catalogued based on the age groups. And there are bookmarks for each age group that tell the parents - in English and Spanish - how they should read the book to their baby or toddler.

Speziale has also gone a step further to make sure the older brothers and sisters of the little patients, and the older patients, like 7-year-old Jason Branly and his sister Alexandra, get a free book too.

She spoke to a few local groups, such as Moms of Preschoolers, or MOPS, and sought their help to gather some new or gently used books. MOPS has donated more than 150 books to the clinic so far.

Speziale put some of those books in a little bin in the waiting area so children can read, and if they like a particular book, they can take it.

"I like the books in the waiting room because they have something to do," said Maria Branly, Jason and Alexandra's mother. "My kids, especially Jason, are full of energy. [Reading] is such a nice activity. He could stay calm in the place with the book and read.

"Studies show that children who live in print-rich environments and who are read to during the first years of life are more likely to learn to read on schedule, according to the ROR National Center.

In addition, reading helps with children's development and gives parents an opportunity to spend one-on-one time with them, said Speziale. "It also helps the kids imagination," she said.

Yet although there are more than 200 ROR programs in Florida, not enough children are engaged in reading, data shows.

The state ranks 46th in the nation for the percentage of children up to 5 who are read to daily, according to ROR.Nationally, 16 percent of parents of children age 3 years and younger do not read at all with their children, and 23 percent do so only once or twice a week.

"There's nothing like reading," said Dr. Bobby Richardson, the clinic's pediatrician who splits his time between the Belleview and Reddick clinics. "How else are you going to learn things?"

Speziale finally selected two books for Jason and Alexandra who were at the exam room with Dr. Richardson.

And as Richardson finished examining Jason, Speziale walked in and stretched her arms to hand the books to the brother and sister.

The four little eyes widened with a look that said, "For me?"

"These are for you guys to keep," Speziale said with a broad smile.

Their mother said reading can help her children learn English more quickly. The family, who lives in Santos, moved here from Puerto Rico a year-and-a-half ago. "They're learning a second language," Branly said. "One of the most important things for them is to read. They'll have knowledge and vocabulary."

And right there, while adults carried on their boring conversations, Jason was transported from the exam room to the world of frogs and Alexandra delved into an adventure with Judy Blume. And nothing else mattered.

Reach Out and Read featured in Town & Country magazine as one of 25 outstanding charities.

Reach Out and Read featured at the first White House Conference on Global Literacy.

For a fourth consecutive year ROR has received the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, the only pediatric literacy organization awarded.