On January 28th Dennis Cooley, MD, FAAP trained physicians at the three Ft. Riley 
clinics to use books in the exam room as part of the Turn a Page. Touch a Mind.® (TAP-TAM) program. The books are provided through the Kansas Pediatric Foundation’s Literacy Endowment and will be given at each well-check visit from 6 months to 5 years from the child’s physician. Parents will the important message to read with their child daily at each visit, a message that they are likely to follow through on according to studies that have been done on programs like TAP-TAM.
Physicians can use the books in the exam room to assess development as well as promote literacy. Children who are read to daily are more likely to start school with the vocabulary and early literacy skills to learn to read on time, an important part of school success.
The physicians at the Ft. Riley clinics will give out over 10,000 books to children 6 months to 5 years annually. There are 80 TAP-TAM sites across the state with over 400 physicians and medical providers participating. TAP-TAM sites will give over 115,000 books to Kansas kids in 2015.