Below are some helpful resources recommended by Dr. Glusman.
Serve & Return Interaction Shapes Brain Circuitry | Harvard Center on the Developing Child
This great video explains how and why “serve and return” interactions between babies and caregivers shape the architecture of the developing brain.
Reach Out and Read is a national organization that promotes parent infant interactions, by incorporating books into pediatric care, and encouraging families to read aloud together. At every well child check starting infancy, Reach Out and Read Doctors give out books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. 15 peer-reviewed studies show that ROR works. Their key findings include: when families participate in ROR, parents are 4 times more likely to read with their kids, and the kids have a 3-6 month advantage in their language skills compared to kids that do not participate in ROR.
The Thirty Million Words Initiative
Kids who grow up in low income families are exposed to 30 million few words by the time they are four, than their more affluent counterparts. Dr. Dana Suskind and her team set out to bridge that 30 million word gap through the thirty million word Initiative. They developed “the T’s”—“Tune in, Talk more, Take turns” as part of their program to encourage serve and return interactions between parents and infants. Learn more about their amazing , successful initiative.
Policy Statement on Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Pediatric Practice June 2014 | The American Academy of Pediatrics
Reviews why literacy promotion needs to be an integral part of pediatric care and recommends that pediatricians talk with all families about the importance of reading aloud with their children, starting at birth.
The literacy toolkit was developed in conjunction with the “Too Small to Fail” Campaign, funded by the Clinton Global Initiative. It has information for providers and families as well as early literacy resources.
AAP webpage on Early Brain and Child Development
This excellent site has information about early brain development, including the latest research findings. It is mostly geared to pediatricians and trainees.
Policy Statement on Poverty and Child Health in the United States, April 2016 | The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Mentions Reach Out and Read as a proven intervention to improve outcomes for low income children
