On May 8, 2024, AEE President Joseph N. Abraham, MD, gave a CME talk to the Lafayette Parish Pediatrics Society.
Local pediatricians Jibran & Celina Atwi were in attendance, and they subsequently invited Dr. Abraham to give the same talk to their practitioners in the Pediatric Group of Acadiana. The video below was given on November 8, 2025 at Fezzo’s Seafood & Steakhouse in Broussard, Louisiana.
This talk explains, in layman’s terms, why reading with children is fundamental to the child’s health, the health of the family, and the health of the community; and why the nature of medicine in changing.
As Dr. Abraham explains, 60% of children who are not prepared to read by 1st grade will end up in jail or on welfare.
In contrast, children who are read to from birth, or better, from the prenatal period, will do better in school, in life, in their careers, and will be much less likely to become involved in drugs, crime, or teen pregnancy.
More information on the benefits of reading, and the harm to children who are not read to, can be seen here.