The ability to read well is a skill that is essential to a successful, productive life. Helping children and parents understand the foundations upon which reading abilities are built is the focus of a unique South Shore Hospital program.
The Reading Partnership at South Shore Hospital has been designed to create
new environments that provide infants, toddlers, and preschoolers the foundation
for learning to read both for education and enjoyment. South Shore Hospital
believes the building blocks for successful reading skills in children can
be established and strengthened.
"Our ultimate goal is to reduce the incidence of learning disabilties in reading
by promoting early literacy from birth," said Jean Ciborowski Fahey, PhD,
educational director of The Reading Partnership. "Beginning with our prenatal
classes and continuing through critical points in child development, we can
offer parents training, coaching, and ongoing support, and make a significant
difference in the lives of children who may be at risk for reading failure
by identifying and treating them before they even reach first grade."
Dr. Ciborowski Fahey's experience includes diagnosing and assessing reading
disabilities at Children's Hospital, Boston, and serving as an instructor
in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is the author of "Textbooks and
the Children Who Can't Read Them" and producer of the film "Raising Readers."
Through The Reading Partnership, South Shore Hospital hopes to create a community
environment where the responsibility for raising a generation of literate
children is shared between new parents, community medical experts, and local
schools. Rather than simply providing free books and encouraging reading,
The Reading Partnership aims to establish a self-renewing system where —
with the birth of a child — new parents are given the knowledge and
skills necessary to actively participate in early literacy development.
Call 781-340-4331 for more information.