I wish this was available when I was
a kid. Oral book reports and reading
out loud, always made me a nervous
wreck as a kid.
Gazette.Net
Often I would stammer and lose
my place, due to the pressure
and fear. The Reading
Education Assistance Dogs
(R.E.A.D) program with Wags
for Hope, helps children
build their reading skills.
How you may ask?
Children can read aloud to a dog and its owner.
It provides a positive and empowering learning
experience for the child. Dogs can offer comfort,
and provide a warm friendly face.
The Gazette.Net Cody Calamaio reports:
“When you’re seeing a dog, it’s a friendly critter and they’ll just sit there and they’ll listen,” Schilling says.
Wags for Hope is a nonprofit organization that brings animals to nursing homes, hospitals, libraries and schools, says board member Dan Grose.
“We do social visits to try to brighten the lives of people that we see,” Grose says.
The organization began using the R.E.A.D. program five years ago, which was originally developed by Intermountain Therapy Animals in Utah. In addition to the library program in which any child can participate, R.E.A.D. also visits schools to assist children in a programs created by a reading specialist.
“It is a completely nonjudgmental atmosphere,” Grose says. “The dog doesn’t care if you’re a slow reader or you have a speech impediment or whatever. It really just puts the child at ease.”
I can really see how this program could
really help children and parents. Giving
kids confidence is so important. When reading
becomes more fun, learning takes place.
Wags For Hope R.E.A.D Program Assistance Dogs Video about the Program
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