Session Description:

This session will take a deep dive into the Reach Out and Read Program in South Carolina. This program allows families to build strong bonds with their children through reading, building childhood resiliency and overcoming toxic stress. 

Objectives – Participants will:

1. Have a better understanding of how healthy relationships are a vital ingredient for brain development in infants and young children.
2. Learn more about the unique opportunity clinicians who care for children have to use a multi-generational approach in promoting the mental health of young children and caregivers.
3. Learn how Reach Out and Read’s approach to helping families understand how and why these “everyday moments” of laughing, playing, bonding, and creating memories during the early years of life are a foundational part of a healthy cognitive, social and emotional development.

Presenter

Deb LaRoche, Program Manager

Born and raised in Florida, Deb moved to South Carolina to attend undergrad at Furman University. After earning her MSW from USC, she moved to Johns Island to join the staff of a local community outreach center, where she was the Social Worker for over 17 years. In 2019, Deb switched gears and began her role as the Lowcountry Program Manager of Reach Out and Read, a national non-profit that equips clinicians who work with children ages 0-5 to share age-appropriate books and guidance with caregivers and patients during well-child visits. Deb enjoys spending time with her husband, Dan; her daughters, Mattie and Molly; and their high-strung rescue dog, Girl Scout.