International Conference on Speech Language Pathology
Las Vegas, USA
Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin
California State University, USA
Title: Building Literacy Skills of At-Risk Children in Poverty
Biography
Biography: Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin
Abstract
It is a well-known fact that children raised in poverty are at risk for a number of challenges. One of these challenges is literacy deficits that can create long-term academic failure accompanied by negative life outcomes. This presentation describes a project to collect books and distribute them to at-risk children in poverty. Entitled Love Talk Read, the project has collected and donated books to children in poverty in the greater Sacramento area of California as well as other countries including Honduras, Samoa, the Philippines, Ecuador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Nepal, the United Kingdom, China, Ukraine, Australia and Micronesia. The program encourages caregivers to daily show love to, talk to and read with their children to enhance their literacy skills for a brighter future. The World Literacy Foundation states that access to books is the greatest factor in academic success; without access to books, it is impossible to build adequate literacy skills. Statistics indicate that in some areas, the average middle-class child has 13+ books in the home while in areas impacted by poverty; there is one book for every 300 children. For fourth graders who reach the end of the school year reading below grade level, approximately 2/3rd of them will end up in prison or on welfare. The average prisoner in the United States does not read above the fourth grade level. This session describes how to collect and donate books to at-risk children in poverty, with an emphasis on practical strategies for doing so. Audience members will leave with specific suggestions for how to start their own book drives and donate the books to at-risk children in their local communities.