Talk With Me Baby Expands Its Impact with New Leadership, Community Partnerships, and Training to Strengthen Early Language Development Nationwide

ATLANTA, Dec. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The science is clear: rich language exposure sets the foundation for success in school and life, including health. Early healthy brain development fuels Talk With Me Baby (TWMB), a groundbreaking initiative of the Rollins Center for Language & Literacy at the Atlanta Speech School and its free online learning platform, Cox Campus. TWMB provides parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers with the necessary coaching to deliver "language nutrition"—the responsive talk that strengthens brain architecture from birth and constructs the foundation for literacy and lifelong learning.

Accessible at coxcampus.org/talk-with-me-baby-birthing-centers, TWMB bridges healthcare and education by ensuring that the earliest language interactions between parents and their newborns are powerful moments for brain development.

Why It Matters

The first three years of life are the most critical for brain development. Babies are born with nearly 100 billion neurons, but the connections between them—synapses—depend on early experiences. Language drives those connections.

• By age three, the quantity and quality of words a child hears is a strong predictor of future reading success.
• Children who cannot read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.

"Every interaction, whether a parent talking, reading, or singing to their baby, is building the foundation of the deep reading brain," said Alvanetta Alexander, MSN, RN, Talk With Me Baby's new Integration Coordinator. "Talk With Me Baby honors the power of parents with the knowledge that the words they share with their baby are building blocks for healthy brain development, literacy, and lifelong opportunity. It's about equity. Ensuring every child, in every community, has the strongest possible start."

Talk With Babies, Make a Difference

Healthcare providers and family coaches can take the free TWMB @ Birthing Centers course on Cox Campus to learn about the connection between language, brain development, and healthcare. The training prepares professionals to integrate language-nutrition coaching into standard hospital care, ensuring that every baby and family benefits from early, brain-building talk.

Scaling Language Nutrition Across Healthcare Systems

Since its launch, Talk With Me Baby has shown how healthcare systems can integrate language nutrition into everyday care. At Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, every staff member, from doctors to nurses to receptionists, has been trained to model and encourage brain-building talk for expectant and new parents. This pioneering work has become a national model, demonstrating how hospitals and birthing centers can embed language support into their standard of care.

By expanding TWMB across hospitals, clinics, early-childhood programs, and community organizations, the initiative is helping regions nationwide create ecosystems of language support from pregnancy through early childhood.

Strengthening Communities Through The Goizueta Foundation

This year, TWMB received significant support through an inaugural partnership grant providing $250,000 to four organizations across the Atlanta area equitable systems that strengthen children and families from the start.

Selected organizations include:

• Ethne Health, serving the City of Clarkston with more than 14,000 annual healthcare visits, largely providing care for refugee families. Patients represent more than 40 languages, while staff members collectively speak 20, ensuring culturally and linguistically responsive care for every family.
• Center for Black Women's Wellness, advancing health equity through preventive care, advocacy, and economic support for Black women and families across Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties. The center engaged more than 3,200 community members last year through 2,591 home visits, supported 241 prenatal patients, and celebrated 80 live births.
• Rainbow House Children's Resource Center, serving families across Houston, Peach, Twiggs, and greater Macon. With 1,000 perinatal participants, 1,565 pediatric participants, and 400 OB/prenatal participants annually, Rainbow House provides critical wraparound services for children and families affected by abuse and trauma.
• Atlanta Birth Center, offering midwifery-led, family-centered care that promotes strong outcomes for maternal and infant health. Hosting approximately 4,080 visits and 440 live births each year, the center continues to grow its impact and is exploring expansion into pediatric services

"These organizations represent the heart of Talk With Me Baby," said Alexander. "They are trusted by their communities and committed to building stronger families. Through this grant, we are amplifying their impact and laying the groundwork for long-term systems change."

Kathalene Gilbert, Executive Director of Rainbow House Children's Resource Center, added, "The Talk With Me Baby initiative will be a catalyst for positive change—promoting early brain and language development while strengthening the families and partners we serve."

By demonstrating how philanthropy can fuel local partnerships, the Goizueta initiative offers a blueprint for communities nationwide, showing how trusted organizations in healthcare and family support can make language nutrition a standard part of care for every baby and family.

A National Movement for Talk With Me Baby

Talk With Me Baby is more than a program. It is a growing movement ensuring every child is surrounded by the rich, responsive language that builds healthy brains and brighter futures.

How to Get Involved

TWMB invites organizations nationwide to join its movement by:

• Integrating language-building practices into family services.
• Partnering across health, education, and social-service sectors.
• Participating in shared learning and collective-impact efforts.

For more information on partnership opportunities, visit www.coxcampus.org.

About the Rollins Center and Cox Campus

The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy, part of the Atlanta Speech School, partners with educators, healthcare professionals, families, and communities to eradicate illiteracy and advance equity. Cox Campus is the free, online learning platform of the Rollins Center, offering accredited, research-based professional development for educators, healthcare providers, and families worldwide.

SOURCE The Rollins Center for Language & Literacy