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| ASPIRUS WOMEN’S GOLF CLASSIC —
2017
MeetClara. She isoneyearold. Shedoesn’tknow
ityet,butwhathappens toher in thenext sixyears
will impactherhealthandsuccess in life.
Clara’smomanddad, on theotherhand, know
verywell about thiscriticalwindowof time
that theirdaughter’sbrain isdeveloping. Their
pediatrician, JasonChan,MD, at theAspirus
PediatricsClinic inWausau,participates in the
ReachOutandReadprogram. Thisprogram
recognizes the importanceof the first sixyears
inearlybraindevelopmentandusesbooksas
tools to introduceparents to the importanceof
engagingwith, and readingaloud to theirchildren.
“Readingwithyourchild isprobablyoneof
thebest thingsyoucandowith regard to their
development,”saidJasonChan,MD. “Instillinga
loveof readingcanhavea tremendous impacton
howwell thechilddoes inschool, andaside from
thedevelopmentof speechand language, there
are fewbetterways tobondwithyourchild than
having themsitonyour lapand readandengage
with them.”
In2008, Aspirus incorporated theevidence-based
ReachOutandReadprogram to itswell-childvisits
forchildrenages6months to5years in twoclinics.
With thecommunity’ssupport through theAspirus
Women’sGolfClassic, theprogramhasnowgrown
toservechildrenduring theirwell-childcheck-ups
at11Aspirusclinics throughoutnorthcentral
Wisconsin.
Whenchildrencome in fora regularwell-child
check-upatparticipatingAspirusclinics, theyare
givenaneducational andage-appropriatebookat
eachvisit, and theirparentsareadvisedabout the
importanceof reading. Achild’s interactionwith
thebooksdiffersbyage,but thebenefitsaregreat
for familiesof alldifferentbackgrounds.
“For thosealready in thehabitof readingas
a family, theReachOutAndReadprogram
reinforces theirgoodhabits. For familieswho
are less fortunate, theremightnotbeanyother
readingmaterials in thehome, soa fewbooks,
alongwith instructions forparents, canmakea
bigdifference,”Dr.Chansaid. “Wealso takecare
of childrenwhohavevariousdegreesof speech
delayand requireevenmoreverbal stimulation,
so readingwith themcanbepartof theoverall
treatmentandhelp them learnhow to talk.”
CommunitySupportHelps
KidsDevelopHealthyBrains
Doctorsandparentspartner
throughReachOutandRead
