Volunteer program uses dogs to help students with reading anxiety

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Primary school students around Australia are tackling their anxiety by reading to dogs. The volunteer program, Story Dogs, recruits four-legged friends to help young children build their confidence.

Transcript

00:00Everyone at this Perth Primary School knows Bijou.

00:07Austin and Henry are the envy of their schoolmates.

00:12They get to miss class to hang out and read with their fluffy friend.

00:16Bijou, Bijou.

00:18They're signed up to the National Story Dogs Program.

00:21Children who become nervous reading in front of teachers and parents read to dogs instead.

00:27The children sit and read to her and she helps them to feel calm and confident

00:32and they just enjoy patting her while they're reading.

00:36Bijou's handler Debbie Martin said the program makes a real difference,

00:41lowering children's reading anxiety.

00:44Going from reading just one or two words to reading a whole sentence

00:49and then of course whole sentences turn into paragraphs

00:53and then the paragraph turns into reading the whole book.

00:55And teachers notice it too.

00:57Some kids just aren't confident in reading and you see them grow that confidence

01:01throughout the year with the story dog which is incredible.

01:04A recent Grattan Institute report showed one third of Australian students can't read properly

01:10and educators are thinking outside the box in an effort to turn that around.

01:15Miss Sharp said anxious children benefit the most.

01:19I send a lot of my anxious children so they can be a little apprehensive at first

01:22watching their confidence grow and how excited they are to grow is such an awesome thing.

01:27This four-legged volunteer helping the next generation of young minds.

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