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Pediatrician examines child literacy

Winchester speaker discusses reading, brain development

Navsaria

Dr. Dipesh Navsaria will present “Books Build Better Brains” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, at the Waupaca Area Public Library.

Hosted by Winchester Academy, the program is free and open to the public.

Navsaria is a pediatrician and medical director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin.

Reach Out and Read is a nonprofit organization that gives America’s youngest children a foundation for success in school by incorporating books and literacy promotion into standard pediatric care.

Each year, medical providers at the nearly 5,000 Reach Out and Read program sites nationwide distribute 6.5 million books to children. They encourage families to read aloud together and offer literacy advice to parents.

Navsaria will discuss how the first 1,000 days of life are the most critical for brain and language development.

Human relationships and interactions play a key role during that time period. By building on the unique relationship between parents and pediatricians, Reach Out and Read helps families encourage early literacy skills so that children enter school prepared for success in reading.

At checkups, pediatricians and primary-care physicians give every child from 6 months through 5 years old a new, developmentally appropriate book to take home and keep.

The evidence-based Reach Out and Read model is supported by 16 independent, peer-reviewed, published studies and has broad bipartisan support in Congress.

Navsaria is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He is heavily involved in both the training and the practice of child health advocacy — writing and speaking nationally on early brain and child development, early literacy and advocacy.

Navsaria’s program is collaboration between Winchester Academy and the Children’s Department of the Waupaca Area Public Library. The presentation coincides with the library’s current exhibit, “The World of Jan Brett,” which runs through Dec. 23.

Winchester Academy is funded by sponsors and tax-deductible donations. Navsaria’s program is sponsored by Bettie Hill in memory of Gilbert Hill.

For more information about Winchester Academy, check winchesteracademywaupaca.org or contact Executive Director Ann Buerger Linden at 715-258-2927 or [email protected].

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