Carter Fawcett has been reading to her four children since before they were born. As a fifth grade teacher, she knows the importance of immersing children in words, stories and songs, starting when they’re still in the womb.
“While I was pregnant with my firstborn, reading and singing to him was my whole attachment to motherhood,” she said. “The other three were just along for the ride, even in my belly, listening to me read aloud to my toddlers.”
Fawcett’s children are patients of Dr. Melissa Boekhaus, a pediatrician at Wellstar Pediatric Adolescent Center in Smyrna. Fawcett was thrilled to learn that the practice had implemented a literacy program called Small TALK, made possible thanks to generous donations from the Wellstar Foundation.
“I love knowing that Wellstar encourages families to read together,” she said.
Wellstar is the only health system in Georgia that provides a high level of literacy support throughout the entire spectrum of pediatric care, from pre-birth through third grade and beyond.
During various touchpoints, from prenatal care to pediatric well-child visits, Small TALK teaches parents and caregivers to tune into their child’s interests and activities. By regularly asking open-ended questions, even to newborns, children learn how to become conversational partners.
“We encourage parents to use their home language and speak in complete sentences using complex vocabulary to lift their child’s language and grow their understanding of the world,” said Lisa Liedke, manager of Small TALK for Wellstar. “Talking, reading, playing and singing together helps even the youngest children establish these skills.”
“Parents are their children’s first and best teachers,” Liedke said. “Empowering the family to have this intentional engagement carries this role from Wellstar to home.”
Small TALK allows healthcare professionals to work closely with families, explaining and coaching how to produce early healthy brain development and language acquisition. These conversations help monitor early development, address concerns and encourage early interventions through referrals if necessary.
“Just as children need food nutrition to grow their bodies, they require language nutrition to grow their brains,” Liedke said.
“If you’re looking for a charitable cause to support on Giving Tuesday, please consider the Wellstar Foundation,” said Fawcett. “Small TALK reaches children across all socioeconomic levels, setting them up with the foundational language tools they’ll need for educational success before they even start kindergarten.”
To learn more about the Wellstar Foundation or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit wellstar.org/give.
Language Development
- By the third trimester, a baby’s auditory channels are fully formed, and exposure to quality language creates neural pathways that build a foundational vocabulary for future learning.
- Eighty percent of brain growth and development occurs between pre-birth and age 3.
- By age 5, brain growth reaches 90%.
- In metro Atlanta, only one in five third graders are strong readers. Those not reading proficiently by this time are four times more likely to drop out of high school.
Small TALK Timeline
- In November 2022, with the support of philanthropy and partners through the Literacy and Justice for All initiative, Wellstar launched Small TALK at 13 of its pediatric offices in Cobb County.
- In 2023, the Small TALK program expanded to Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center’s Mother Baby Unit and NICU and is now embedded in prenatal classes.
- In February 2024, Small TALK received a $1.1 million donation from the Callaway Foundation to expand to OB/GYN and pediatric offices in West Georgia and Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center's Mother Baby Unit and NICU in LaGrange.
- In October 2024, Small TALK expanded to Wellstar pediatric offices in Douglasville, Hiram, Alpharetta and Smyrna.
- Today, Wellstar uses its internal and community partnerships to help build a bridge and close gaps in healthcare and education. The Small TALK team attends community events with Marietta City Schools and Cobb Collaborative, among others. Wellstar is building a literacy ecosystem representing healthcare’s involvement in the broader literacy space.
