The vast majority of Reach Out and Read programs nationwide serve families for whom Spanish is their first language. The Corvallis Clinic program site is one of them.
“We have books in Spanish and bilingual books to give to Spanish-speaking families,” said Christy Rivers, D.O., a Clinic pediatrician. “I think families appreciate knowing that we encourage literacy in any language.”
Although The Clinic does not have books in other languages, such as Arabic or Mandarin, Rivers said she tells those families that part of reading is just discussing the pictures in the books. “A parent can ‘read’ the book in her native language by making up a story based on the pictures,” she said.
Rivers, whose first experience with Reach Out and Read was as a resident, has been studying Spanish for a number of years. She and her family attended a language school in Peru last summer. “We stayed in an apartment and in the afternoons our kids would play soccer in the street with the local children,” she said. “Our kids loved learning about another culture and wanted to continue to learn Spanish. We read children’s books at home in Spanish.”
She is continuing to work on becoming fluent in Spanish. “If you come to The Clinic, you will hear me and my medical assistant, Marlon Casal, speaking in Spanish to each other.”
In May, Rivers will travel to Guatemala to study at the language school she attended while in medical school and to work in a clinic. She will be housed by the same family she has stayed with during her and her family’s previous visits. “It will be really special to stay with my Guatemala family again.”
The bottom line for Rivers is that Reach Out and Read benefits all children. “Part of what makes children of any background ‘at risk’ is lack of access to resources,” she said. “By providing books in Spanish and by giving a book to all children, we level the playing field. If parents read to their children, in any language, and interact with them by talking, singing and listening, the child will have a better chance at school success.”
And it’s a program that provides the added benefit of helping reduce children’s fear of going to the doctor.
“I know that visits to the doctor are often traumatic because they include shots,” she said. “It is nice to promote an aspect of health that is fun and happy.”
