|
Pets
Add Winning Smiles !
Reading
Education Assistance Dogs®
Reading with Dogs? Really?
Of
course they can't. BUT, they can be great listeners. And
their presence creates an inviting and motivating environment:
What
is R.E.A.D.?
The
Reading Education Assistance Program improves
children's reading and communication skills by employing a powerful
method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog.
R.E.A.D.
dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their
owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other
settings as reading companions for children.
Today,
hundreds of registered R.E.A.D. teams work throughout the United States
and Canada. R.E.A.D. is one of those ideas that, in the words of
Bill Moyers, "pierces the mundane to arrive at the
marvelous."
Intermountain
Therapy Animals,
www.therapyanimals.org,
a nonprofit
organization, launched R.E.A.D. in 1999 as the first
comprehensive literacy program built
around the appealing idea of reading to dogs, and the program has been
spreading rapidly and happily ever since!
How
Does It Work?
R.E.A.D.
utilizes registered therapy animals who have been trained and tested for
health, safety, appropriate skills and temperament. When these
special animals come to hear children read, it's fun! And that
makes all the difference.
But
Why Dogs?
Learning
to read is often less about intellectual limitation than about
overcoming fears. "Fear can destroy intelligence," say
educator William Ayers.
Animals
are ideal reading companions because they:
-
help
increase relaxation and lower blood pressure
-
listen
attentively
-
do
not judge, laugh or criticize
-
allow
children to proceed at their own pace
-
are
less intimidating than peers
When
a R.E.A.D. dog is listening, the environment is transformed, a child's
dread is replaced by eager anticipation, and learning occurs. The
handler is a skilled facilitator, too--shifting performance pressure off
the child and providing support, while the child gets the supervised
reading practice necessary to build vocabulary, increase understanding
of the material, and gain fluency as a reader.
The Results are Significant
Participating kids make
enormous strides in reading and communication skills while, along the
way, building self-esteem, confidence and social skills. And there
are bonus benefits--performance in other subjects tends to improve, as
does attendance and even personal hygiene.
In
addition, when children accomplish goals set in the program, they
received brand new books to keep which are "pawtographed" by
their r-footed reading companions-no small reward!
Where
does R.E.A.D. Happen?
-
elementary
schools
-
libraries
-
preschools
and child care facilities
-
before-
and after-school programs
-
healthcare
facilities
-
boys
and girls clubs
-
youth
detention facilities
Want
to learn more about becoming a Registered R.E.A.D. Team?
Please
contact:
Intermountain
Therapy Animals (ITA)
4050 South 2700 EDast, SLC, UT 84124
PO Box 17201, SLC, UT 84117-0201
Salt
Lake City, UT 84117
P: (801)
272-3439 Fax: (801) 272-3470
www.therapyanimals.org
Heart-centered message from the founder of Dog Talk & TheraPet, LLC
and New England Pet Partners, Inc.:
I
have been reading to my dogs since I was 3 years old.
I am passionate about dogs helping/teaching people and people helping/teaching dogs, as
they continually do for me! Our Pet Therapy Programs are inspired
by organizations such as the Delta Society® and Intermountain Therapy
Animals®. We are licensed with Delta as instructors and evaluators. We have completed the R.E.A.D.® program and have
several teams advocating the training and benefits. You can find
them, as we grow, by clicking on Find a
Team. The teams at New
England Pet Partners of N.H., Inc. are
registered with Delta's® Pet Partner® Program . All teams MUST
complete the home study programs offered by the Delta Society and R.E.A.D®.
It
is with gratefulness that we are part of the mission to enhance the
quality of life through the human-animal bond.
Maureen Ross,
M.A. NBCC, RYT
www.dogtalk.com
www.newenglandpetpartners.org
In
our individual way, we can all fly
Awareness
~ Education ~ Relationship
~ B
R E A T H E ~
  
|
