Learn about common Down syndrome personality traits such as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral traits. Discover ways to support individuals with Down syndrome
Resources for teaching children with Down Syndrome Below you will find information on proven resources used to help children with Down Syndrome with literacy, numeracy and communication. Click on any of […]
Discover helpful Down syndrome resources and support groups to understand the potential challenges and triumphs of raising a child with DS.
Parenting a toddler with Down Syndrome can be hard. read this article to find out all about how to navigate this journey successfully.
Learn about Down Syndrome and find out how you can best support your child with this condition. Read about what you can do at home and school
Whether you are having a baby or fostering, adopting, or simply parenting a child with Down syndrome, continual preparation and understanding will be needed. The capabilities of one child may differ greatly from those of another, so getting to know your child will be the most helpful in gauging the best ways to support them....Read More
If you're a parent or teacher looking for a resource that will educate your students/children about Down syndrome while encouraging acceptance, diversity, inclusion, friendship, and support- then this is the ULTIMATE bundle for you. You can use this any time of the year but DS is more specifically celebrated during Down Syndrome Awareness Month (October), and/or World Down Syndrome Day (3/21). In this bundle you get the following resources (please refer to each specific resource for previews/reviews/further information): *Down Syndrome Awareness for grades 3-5 *Down Syndrome Awareness for grades Prek- 2 *A mini book "EXTRA" and extension activity *Accepting Differences: A Recipe for Acceptance
Show your support with this adorable Down Syndrome T-Shirt, designed to celebrate the beauty of an extra chromosome. Perfect for Down Syndrome Awareness Month, this Cute Extra Chromosome Shirt is a meaningful way to raise awareness and spread love. Whether you're participating in awareness events or simply want to show your support, this Down Syndrome Awareness T-Shirt is a must-have. Share the message of acceptance and inclusion with this charming Down Syndrome Tee, and help make a positive impact in your community. The model is wearing a size L. For additional information on the fit, please refer to the size chart. Specifications: • Gildan 64000 • Seamless double-needle collar • Double-needle sleeve and bottom hems • 100% combed and ring-spun cotton • Taped neck and shoulders for durability material: • 100% cotton • Fiber content may vary by color Care instructions: Wash: Machine wash warm (max 40C or 105F), wash garment inside out with similar colors Tumble Dry: Low Bleach: Only non-chlorine Dry Clean: Do not dry clean Iron: Don't iron Production: This item is produced in 9 countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Production country for each order is carefully selected by an advanced routing algorithm at the time of ordering. In most cases, products are fulfilled at the closest production center. Sometimes due to reasons such as stock availability, orders may be shipped internationally even if a fulfillment center exists within the same country. Print: The standard process is the Direct to Garment (DTG) method of printing. This is the equivalent to digital printing for paper and it's ideal for printing on-demand on cotton. Disclaimers: Please note that color disparities can arise. As a result, the final appearance of your prints may be influenced by a multitude of distinct factors such as different printers, color profiles, settings, and processes. We want to be transparent and ensure your satisfaction, which is why we cannot promise absolute color precision of 100%. Some of the pictures used in the listing are mockups and are not an exact replica of the garment.
Occupational Therapy for Down Syndrome Diagnosis, treatment, early intervenrtion, fine motor/gross motor activities, sensory processing
“I hope that when people see me modeling, they know that people with disabilities can do anything.”
Learn about common Down syndrome personality traits such as cognitive, emotional, and behavioral traits. Discover ways to support individuals with Down syndrome
Sjogren’s Syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can affect the entire body. It is important to follow these healthy lifestyle principles.
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Sjogren’s Syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can affect the entire body. It is important to follow these healthy lifestyle principles.
How I use Fidget Toys as reinforcers in my Classroom Sensory Help your students focus and keep calm while keeping little hands busy. When collecting fidget toys make sure they’re robust enoug…
Download this Premium Photo about Girl with down syndrome posing while showing colorful palms, and discover more than 60 Million Professional Stock Photos on Freepik
I love sharing what I've learned (and am still learning) about homeschooling, especially homeschooling a special needs child. I am a huge advocate for homeschooling children with special needs. I truly believe that a parent's love for their child will guide them to find the best possible curriculum to meet their child's needs. I'll do anything to help Joe succeed. Research reading programs - ✔ Find musical DVDs to help him learn math facts, states, etc. - ✔ Sit with him for endless hours in the bathroom while working on potty training. - ✔ Teach him how to butter his own bread. - ✔ You'd do these for any of your kids right? The difference when dealing with a special needs child is that often times the first thing tried doesn't work. Or the second. Or the third. Usually around the 4th or 5th try is when I finally find something that works. I hope my trial and error process provides you with more insight to help you know where to start. For any homeschooling parent, especially if you are starting from the beginning, teaching your child to read is the skill that requires the most of your time. Over the years I've used many different reading programs. I've purchased ready to go curriculum. I've printed and printed and printed phonics worksheets and mini books. I've spent my Dollar Tree budget on workbooks worth exactly what I paid. I've bought my share of early readers. Oh, how I despise most early readers. Some have worked, others not so much. I'll share two of my favorite series later in this post. Here's what I'm using to teach Joseph (with Down syndrome) to read today. I say today, because I do change things up a bit through the school year depending on what's working and whether I find something new I'd like to try. However, I have no plans on changing because the following two reading tactics are working quite well for us. #1 All About Reading Level 1 This is the phonics component to Joe's reading program. It's really the spine, the meat, the backbone to how I'm teaching Joe to read. Phonics play an important part in reading, even for kiddos with special needs. I've read in numerous places how kids with Down syndrome can only learn to read through sight reading. That's false and short sighted because really, are you going to make flashcards for every word in the dictionary? Because that's what sight reading means - memorizing and learning to recognize words immediately. Phonics is a tool for readers. A tool to help them sound out a word using very specific rules relating to letter combinations. And I love All About Reading! It takes you through step by step using a sequence that makes sense. Each step is scripted, which at first (if you haven't used a scripted curriculum) feels fake and slow. But once you pick up on the flow and script style, it's really easy to be natural and still follow the script. Now that I'm very comfortable with All About Reading Level 1, I put my own spin on it. Here's how: Letter sounds come easy to Joe, but the blending of letters together to read a word is a slow process. He definitely gets the process. It's just his lips don't always want to move into the letter sound shapes quickly. Say the word fun. Look at yourself in the mirror as you say it slowly. Your lips have to make 3 different shapes. Then in order to say the word fast you have to be able to move your lips and tongue quickly. That's where people with Down syndrome often struggle. The brain power is there! The necessary facial control is sometimes difficult. All About Reading lessons include a section called Fluency Practice. It's usually 1-3 pages of words, phrases, and sentences for your child to read to increase their reading speed. Speed is important for reading comprehension. As we've progressed through the lessons the Fluency pages are our least favorite part because they take a long, loooong, looooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnng time to get through. Like Lesson 10 took over a month. Looking at a whole page of sentences was overwhelming even if I covered up everything except what he was reading. He just knew it was never ending. So I grabbed a yellow legal pad, turned it sideways and started writing out the sentences word by word for Joe to read, and we haven't turned back. It's working just as I had hoped. The key to this style of fluency practice is to write one word at a time. The 2nd key is to adjust the sentences so there's lots of repetition. See my samples below. In the first example the sentences are the same length; I just changed up a word or two in each sentence. Reading the same words over and over again helps with instant recognition. Lesson 10 Sentences Lesson 12 Sentences - definitely harder than lesson 10. Once the full sentence is written I let Joe read it again pointing on his own. Then a smiley face and I start writing the next sentence having him read each word as I write it. Once the page is full, we're done for the day. ----------------------------------Edited 4-13-18------------------------------------ Since this blog post I started a YouTube channel. For a look at All About Reading Level 1 and how I customize it to make it work best for Joseph check out the video. #2 Like I said earlier, I've bought my fair share of early readers. We've stuffed our library bag, too. I'm hard to please when it comes to those early readers. Some readers have advanced words. We checked out one Level Pre-Primer from the library with the words tornado and lightning. Clearly, those are not pre-primer words. Some are simply stupid. Thankfully, I ran across Margaret Hillert's "Beginning to Read" books. Most of the books are familiar stories, simplified to only include words off the Dolch word list. The Dolch word list includes 220 of the most often used words in books, textbooks, newspapers, etc. Hillert's books are repetitive throughout and list the words used in the back of the book. Her simplest books use just over 30 different words. Original copyright hardcovers New updated versions. These include excellent additional literacy activities. The rhyming activity is really helping Joe with his rhyming. Books we've read according to number of words 34 - The Three Little Pigs 36 - The Three Goats 43 - The Yellow Boat 44 - Cinderella at the Ball 45 - The Three Bears 49 - A House For Little Red 58 - The Purple Pussycat 61 - Four Good Friends 61 - Dear Dragon Goes to the Library 67 - It's St. Patrick's Day, Dear Dragon 69 - Little Red Riding Hood 72 - Pinocchio This is just a handful of her books. Amazon has many, many more, but they are pricey. Buying used is probably a good option. Here's another option for purchasing used copies. Here's how we use the Beginning to Read books. Day 1. I read aloud the story a couple of times during Morning Time or whenever time permits. Day 2. I read the title, then have Joe read the title from the title page. I read the first few pages, then have him read a sentence or two. I read a few more pages, then have him read a sentence or two. This continues till the end. Day 3. I point, he reads. If he gets stuck on a non-phonetic word (true sight word) I simply tell him the word and he keeps reading. If he gets stuck on a phonetic word, I have him sound it out and go on. Day 4. Repeat of Day 3. Day 5. I quiz him on the words using homemade flashcards. I write each word on a card, then set out 12 in front of him. I say a word, he finds it and holds it. Each time he finds a word, I replace it with another card so there are always 12 cards in front of him. Once all cards have been picked up he gets a reward, usually a hug, high 5 or animal cracker. Day 6. Same as Day 5, except I put out 16-20 cards at a time. Day 7. Joe holds the pile, reads a card, then hands it to me. Once I have all the cards (which I've done nothing to earn them) he congratulates me. He's so funny. Writing out the flashcards doesn't take much time because the words are used in multiple stories so I just reuse them over and over. He also reads the book to himself during afternoon quiet time. At this time, I don't correct him if I hear a wrong word. I let him read it any way he chooses as long as he's reading quietly. I want him to simply enjoy books. Thanks for reading; that was a lot of information. Do you have other questions about teaching reading to beginners? I'd love to help. Please leave a comment here at the blog or at the Camp Homeschool Facebook page. Linking up with
Many children with Down Syndrome will benefit greatly from having speech therapy but most parents also want to know what they can do to help so here are the top 5 speech therapy tips for children with Down Syndrome written by a therapist herself.
Sjogren’s Syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can affect the entire body. It is important to follow these healthy lifestyle principles.
Teal Ribbon Temporary TattooTeal ribbons show support for a variety of causes including several types of cancer, anxiety disorder, Tourette Syndrome, and sexual assault. Show your support at events and help raise awareness.
Every child with Down Syndrome is unique but there are commonalities especially when it comes to behaviors. Learn about the 7 most common behavior issues we see in children with Down Syndrome as well as tips on how to manage those behaviors. Let's rock this special life!
If you want to support individuals and families touched by Down syndrome check out this awesome list of down syndrome awareness products!
De Quervain's Syndrome is also known as New Mom's Syndrome. Check out this blog to learn about the different symptoms and treatment options available.
"Never let someone else put limitations on your child!"
The diagnostic approach to patients with suspected Cushing’s Syndrome has been published in an evidence-based guideline by the Endocrine Society. Endocrine Society Diagnosis Guide Also, check out the Hypercortisolism Checklist for more information on diagnosing the disease. Hypercortisolism Checklist Clinical Testing for Cushing’s Syndrome By Dr. James Findling, Spring, 2014 A screening laboratory evaluation for […]
Teenagers with Down Syndrome often have the potential for greater independence than they, or even us as Family Caregivers, might initially realize.
What is PANS Syndrome? In this post, I share my family's story with PANS Syndrome, the symptoms of PANS/PANDAS & what you can do to help.
Aspies are an interesting bunch. Lots to learn from them. If you are not familiar with Asperger's syndrome, this infographic will help you understand.
We’ve all seen the lists: 100 Frequently used Sight Words that students need to know. If you are like me, you probably printed them out, and made flashcards for students to learn. Also like me, you probably realized that students were easily bored with flashcards alone. If you have students with Do
