WASHINGTON (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)— Itdeveloper of the world’s most advanced ai-powered reading app, will donate iPads, hundreds of preschool books, and free access to the Ello app to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital to support hospitalized children during their long-term care. In addition to books, this initiative includes literacy activities to support children in their learning process and bring joy to their lives during their hospital stay.
Learning loss in children with chronic illnesses while hospitalized is an issue that often does not receive much attention. According to a report According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Many chronic disorders require frequent hospitalizations, resulting in missed school days and poor academic performance. The average time that students with multiple disabilities are absent from school is 28.9 days each time they are hospitalized.”
“Our young patients in long-term care need a lot of support, including literacy support, so they don’t fall behind when they’re not in the classroom. Ello’s donation will give them the opportunity to read fun, engaging stories to lift their spirits as they work on their literacy skills during their hospital stay,” said Katie Wallace, child life coordinator at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Ello co-founder Dr. Elizabeth Adams, a licensed clinical child psychologist who supported families through therapy and clinical work prior to founding Ello, will meet with families and representatives from the hospital’s Child Life Services team to donate iPads and books along with unlimited access to the Ello app.
“Early in my career, working in hospitals, I noticed this learning loss among young patients, especially in oncology and other specialties where children are absent for long periods of time from their peers and school environment,” said Dr. Adams, co-founder and CEO of Ello. “I’m thrilled that Ello can be part of a solution for these patients and their families, to help them with the literacy support they need while hospitalized while also providing them with fun, engaging books and activities to do in the midst of very long days.”
Elizabeth brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Ello and the company is making significant strides in the field of educational technology. She has dedicated her professional life to assessing, diagnosing, and treating children with developmental differences. Her research has focused on parental stress and support, cognitive and academic development, and language and literacy acquisition, particularly for children with hearing loss. During her clinical internship at Children's National Hospital, she witnessed firsthand the impact of frequent, long-term, chronic hospitalizations on children's learning loss. This experience deeply influenced her career path and commitment to child development, leading her to create the educational technology startup Ello. Since founding Ello, Elizabeth has been named to the Inc. 2024 Female Founders 250 List for increasing revenue by 265 percent and Ello's subscriber base by 146 percent to address childhood illiteracy with an ai-powered coaching platform.
Elizabeth met her co-founders Tom Sayer and Catalin Moreno Voss through their shared passion for early childhood development and learning. Together, they embarked on an unusual journey for someone outside of Silicon Valley, merging Elizabeth’s extensive experience in traditional settings with Tom and Catalin’s technology expertise. Their collaborative vision led to the creation of Public Benefits Corporation, Ello, and an ai-powered reading tutor designed to support children’s literacy development.
Since its inception in 2020, Ello has grown exponentially, serving tens of thousands of children and earning a spot as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024. Last summer, the company successfully raised a Series A round of funding and expanded its team to 40 members globally, with offices in Brazil, New York, and San Francisco.
About It
Ello is helping to solve childhood illiteracy by scaling up 1:1 instruction to maximize the learning potential of all children, regardless of resources. Its first product is the world’s most advanced reading companion, powered by patented speech recognition and generative ai. It listens, understands, and interacts with children to teach them critical reading skills as they read aloud. Ello was founded by a team of experts in education, child development, and ai, and is backed by investors including Y Combinator, Goodwater, Project A, and Homebrew. Learn more at https://ello.com.
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