Our AAP Chapter has taken the lead in the establishment of the ROR San Diego Collaborative. Reach Out and Read is a national program that encourages literacy in young children through pediatricians at their well-child visits. You can find detailed information at their website at www.reachoutandread.org. At each well-child visit between 6 months and 5 years of age, the pediatrician hands the child/parent a new, developmentally appropriate book. With that, the importance of literacy and reading is introduced and reinforced. There are many issues to discuss at well-child visits. How many interventions or anticipatory guidance messages have actually been shown to have a positive impact? Reach Out And Read is one of the few (along with immunizations). ROR has actually been shown in studies to improve literacy rates and increase reading in low-income children.

Almost any pediatrician can have their office or clinic become a Reach Out and Read site. We currently have over 35 sites in San Diego County, some of which have been part of ROR for over 10 years. We are fortunate to have many community members as part of our ROR San Diego Collaborative board, including the San Diego County Library (San Diego County Libraries Partnership), the County of San Diego- Maternal, Child and Family Health Services, the Community Clinic Network, CPCMG Medical Group, and other groups. As a collaborative, we will work together to build and support ROR and pediatric literacy in San Diego.