Perri Klass, MD, FAAP, is the National Medical Director of Reach Out and Read—a non-profit initiative that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide. Reach Out and Read gives new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.
Beyond her work with Reach Out and Read, Dr. Klass is a professor of journalism and pediatrics at New York University and also works at Bellevue Hospital Clinic. She served on the Health Literacy Project Advisory Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, Dr. Klass is a widely published author of both fiction and nonfiction, who writes frequently about topics concerning children and health. She also writes about her ongoing interest in knitting.
In this podcast, she talks with Helen Osborne about:
- Reach Out and Read, a program to encourage early literacy and promote reading aloud.
- Why it is important to address literacy in well-child pediatric visits.
- The intersection of literacy, learning, and health from childhood on.
More Ways to Learn:
- Reach Out and Read, http://www.reachoutandread.org
- Osborne H, “In Other Words…Make a Difference…Be a Literacy Volunteer,” On Call magazine, April 2001. Available at www.healthliteracy.com/literacy-volunteer
Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Second Edition (Updated 2018), by Helen Osborne. Relevant chapters include: 17, 21, 27, 31, 40.
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