Down Syndrome anyone?

[Reya]

I'm now in charge of the education of a DS preschooler. In two months, I've gotten him from the bottom 1st percentile of DS kids in most areas to about the 20th percentile for DS kids. I've got this summer to get him to 50th %ile and the next year to get him solidly in the 90th %ile.

 

He has no hearing loss, no heart abnormalities, no intestinal abnormalities, good eyesight, etc., but lived for the first two years of his life a very institutional kind of existence--no therapy, not held, crying ignored, etc. There was a slight improvement from years 2-3 and now a dramatic improvement since he turned 4 this year. So his extreme delay for Down syndrome isn't a result of being naturally low functioning but a result of neglect.

 

He's speaking in not only "packaged" two-word phrases but in original two- and sometimes three-word sentences already. He has a vocabulary near 100 words. Since I began working with him and directing his education, he's learned the sounds to many letters of the alphabet.

 

The goal is for him to be mainstreamed in school with two hours of after schooling a day. We'll be using Love and Learning initially for reading and adding in Sidney Ledson's Teach You Child To Read in 5 Minutes a Day up through CVC sentences, then we'll be switching to Pollard's Synthetic Readers for however far we can take him. My goal is to have him reading CVC words before starting K. I know this is possible--I hope it's possible for HIM.

 

We'll be using Math Their Way for mathematics beginning in a couple of weeks. I don't know what's really possible with math achievement in DS. Most math education for DS kids seems to be resoundingly pathetic. DS kids have all the speech processing kinds of problems that my high-IQ son did, plus frequent hearing loss and low IQ, and yet people act surprise with methods that my son couldn't have managed fail for kids with DS.

 

We're going to need to explicitly teach grammar. No one seems to have addressed the grammatical weakness of DS kids--which is infuriatingly frustrating. Anyone have ideas that DON'T involve me writing a curriculum? I can if I have to, but that sooo won't be fun.

 

We're also going to need to explicitly teach a conversational expressive vocabulary. I've found some word frequency lists for TV and movie scripts, and they seem to be extremely useful for teaching a speaking vocab, but I'm afraid I'm going to end up writing the curriculum again.

 

Anyhow, is anyone education a child with DS here? What has worked particularly well for reading and math?

[Cortana]

I'm a mom of a child with down syndrome. My little guy just turned 10. We've only been homeschooling him since this past November, so I have very little advice in what curriculum/methods to offer. I wish I could help you more but I'm still learning myself.

 

I'm using the Rod and Staff preschool series with my ds and he's doing pretty darn well with it. I supplement with flash cards, educational games and LeapPad/Leapster. For my ds, it's been a matter of discovering his learning level and combining that with his interests and strengths. When he was in public school special ed preschool, this was what the teachers did and it worked wonders with him. He learned a lot and retained it.

 

Thinking back to when ds was in preschool, I'm not too sure any of his preschool teachers used a particular reading program or math program at that point. I think they just focused more on the basics (ABCs, 123s, rote counting, pre-reading skills, etc.)

 

The last reading program ds used before we withdrew him was the Edmark Reading Program http://www.donjohnston.com/products/edmark/index.html

The biggest drawback to this one is it is horribly expensive. Even ds's former teacher had to borrow it from another teacher due to the expense. But, it did seem to be working with him. Another of ds's former public school teachers (who is my special ed mentor and dear friend) highly recommends this program for special ed students. The cost is the only reason I haven't been using it at all. My mentor also said the Explode the Code series is a very good one, too, that she has seen special ed students have success with.

 

I plan to continue with Rod and Staff for math for now until ds has the skills needed for it, but when he's ready I have Mastering Mathematics ready to start with him and I will be using it next year with my younger ds (8yo) who has high-functioing autism. http://www.masterypublications.com/

They also have writing and language arts programs.

 

Another math program that ds has used and had success with is TouchMath. Like Edmark, it's a very pricey program. But it's a good one. I have seen this one go at pretty affordable prices on eBay.

 

If you haven't checked it out yet, go to Woodbine House http://www.woodbinehouse.com/

They have a series of books for teaching children with down syndrome, everything from fine motor skills to reading to math. I have the books for teaching fine motor skills and reading and they are both very good resources. The reading book has an appendix of different reading programs the author recommends (including Edmark).

 

I, too, have been frustrated by the lack of a curriculum geared specifically for children with down syndrome or any developmental disorders really. I'm not sure why, either, with so many more children with developmental disorders being homeschooled now.

 

Above all, lots of patience and lots of love. I have to be very careful not to push my ds too hard or expect too much out of him. I'm focusing more this year on learning how he learns and making the curriculum fit him rather than the other way around. His previous ps teacher worked so hard to make him fit the curriculum that it really created a huge mess and did a lot of damage that we are still working to undo. My ds is also incredibly stubborn, sneaky and clever. He knows way more than he lets on and has learned over the last 2 years how to "play stupid" to get out of having to work hard. He's getting better, though. ;) I also have to make myself be aware of his limits, knowing that there is a point where he will max out his learning potential. It's a sad fact, but true. That doesn't mean I will stop teaching him, it just means that he's already pre-programmed to reach a specific learning level and that's as far as he will really be able to go. Our biggest goal for him is to make learning fun, help him learn as much as he can and help him have a fantastic life.:001_smile:

 

Good luck with your work and I hope I've been able to help.:)

Edited April 5, 2010 by Cortana

[Reya]

Thanks for the info!

 

>He knows way more than he lets on and has learned over the last 2 years how to "play stupid" to get out of having to work hard.

 

Yeah, this guy has that one worked out more than a year ago, but he wasn't doing it to escape from work that was too hard but to keep from exerting any effort at all or following any rules at all. The school teachers have NEVER demanded anything of him. AT. ALL. He's been allowed to do anything he wants in the Head Start program. He wasn't walking at four years old.

 

Let me repeat that: HE WAS NOT WALKING AT FOUR YEARS OLD. NOT AT ALL.

 

Funny, but I got him walking in a week. With therapy, he'd have been walking two years before. He's so much happier to be able to do things for himself! He is just so. darned. stubborn., and unfortunately he has his older brother's personality and really doesn't like trying new things.

 

His basic response to anything being requested of him is to play dumb because he'd rather sit and play with his noisy toys than work on anything. If you persist, though, and have ****something that you're offering within his skill level****, he joins in and gets enthusiastic, like with the learning-the-alphabet tapes. He can make the sounds of every letter of the alphabet now, and he loves it!

 

I have a very gifted DS, and yet he has some fairly major disabilities that we've had to work through. I really believe in pushing struggling kids....but in pushing them the RIGHT way. Pushing them to make small, achievable steps and to teach them through their strongest modalities. It's not that I don't believe that there are very much going to be limits on what the preschooler can learn--there are limits for everyone--but I don't think he's currently being taught anywhere near his demonstrated ability level.

 

So right now, teaching the preschooler to drink from a cup is pushing him like crazy. He throws fits. He tries to throw the cup, bite it, spit the juice out, etc. But it's a very reasonable expectation, given his abilities. Yet when he does drink, he stops and applauds himself and says "Thank you!" even in the middle of his fit. And in two more weeks, it'll be like he's been drinking out of a cup all along, and he'll be better off for it.

 

I'm very disappointed in the apparent disappearance of Math Their Way from the schools. My mother has great success with her high MR/low LD 1st and 2nd graders and had them all at a grade level of at least grade level 2.3 and mostly at 2.5+ by the time they left her class. Being half a year behind in math is great from a high MR kid entering 3rd grade. I don't think I can replicate that with this kiddo, who is lower functioning, but I'm hoping that he'll enjoy the games as much as I think he will and can at least finish MTW's 1st grade curriculum by the end of second grade. We'll see if that's possible. The games are self-paced, in that you move on whenever you've mastered the previous concept. I've never seen any systematic math ed being given to young Ds kids, though, so we'll see where we end up...

 

Right now, I'm in charge of curriculum for:

 

DS, 7, at least exceptionally gifted but LD, too, with CAPD/ADHD/dyslexia/dysgraphia, functioning on the 3rd to 9th grade level, depending on subject, with huge initial struggles in reading/writing and some continuing complications

 

Another young man, 6, at least highly gifted, strong in language arts, reading independently easily at a late 5th grade level, initial struggles with math (not LD but mismatch) but now working above grade level with a curriculum change, who will have 2nd/3rd grade math next year, 5th grade reading, and 3rd-4th grade writing, spelling, and language arts

 

The Down syndrome preschooler, who's learning the names and sounds of the letters

 

My 18-month-old prodigiously gifted daughter who is NOT LD, who is right now cruising along with the preschooler just because he's there and so is officially learning the sounds of the letters, though she can already read some on her own

 

So we've got both ends of the spectrum here, and many complications in between. It's all about finding what works best for each kid. My DS is going to be in agony next year, though, because his friend, a year younger, is almost certainly going to surpass him in reading (and already has in spelling). Too darn bad, buddy! :001_smile:

 

I'm hoping my daughter sitting in on the preschooler's afterschooling will keep her at least a little amused and out of trouble and will motivate him to higher levels. And, heck, maybe the peer pressure will have a good effect on her, too, and get her to actually cooperate with someone else's idea for once.

 

BTW, Sidney Ledson's program was developed to teach very, very young (2 years old, often!) neurotypical children to read but has been very successful with those with Down syndrome, AND it's phonics based. Hence going with that.

Edited April 5, 2010 by Reya

[Cortana]

Yeah, this guy has that one worked out more than a year ago, but he wasn't doing it to escape from work that was too hard but to keep from exerting any effort at all or following any rules at all.

LOL, that's exactly what I meant. :) My ds could care less if the work is hard or easy, he just plain doesn't want to do it. He tries to do what I call "the cuteness factor", he really cranks up the "cute" and tries to charm his way out of doing stuff. It's worked so well at ps, he can't figure out why it doesn't work with me, lol! Um, it's called mommy is pretty immune to it and has learned your sneaky little tricks, bub. ;) I love him and he really is too darn cute and adorable for his own good.

 

And yes, the stubborness is such a pain! Dh works with developmentally disabled adults and has worked with several adults with down syndrome and he sees the same thing, stubborn as the day is long. But as you've seen, when they do finally learn to do something for themselves, they love it!

 

My biggest struggle with ds right now is finding ways to make learning fun so he wants to learn and doesn't fight with me so much. He had a good day today and did really well (I got him to do 4 pages of his colors and shapes instead of the usual 2, that's a good day in my book! :D ), but who knows how he'll do tomorrow. ;)

 

Update with your progress and your student's progress, it's nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of and find out about other programs I don't know about.

[Ottakee]

I do not have a child with DS but I do have 2 kids with mental impairments. One has an IQ of 55, the other an IQ of 38. I have them both reading at a 3rd grade level and above.

 

http://www.teacherweb.com/CA/PomeloDriveElementary/Mrssakamoto/printap2.stm free printable books

 

http://www.3rsplus.com is the reading program I used (first 2 sets of books are printable from 1st link). This program is the ONLY thing that got my dd (the one with the IQ of 38) reading. She is now reading simple chapter books, surfing the internet, writing emails, etc. Check out more information on the yahoo group Beginning Reading Instruction. There is a wealth of free information there.

 

One great thing about the program is that is is less than $200 or so for the complete K-3rd grade reading AND it is completely reusable with other kids (and has a great resale value).

 

I sound like a commercial but with this program I got my daughter who was not supposed to ever be able to read to entering school this year with the lowest IQ in her room but the HIGHEST reading skills in her class.

[Reya]

Well, he walked down TWO FLIGHTS of stairs today with just one hand and the stair rail for support!!!!! And he walked 150ft across grass without falling once. Supernanny and I have been working with him on the stairs--the grass has been all me.

 

In Feb, he wasn't even walking one step!

 

Right now, he's using Love and Learning DVDs and will be using Math Their Way soon. Starfall, too.

[Reya]

Totally awesome!!!! Thank you SO MUCH. I know this is doable; I've just never been in this kind of position before, and it's kind of devolved to me all at once, so I've had zero prep time.

[Cortana]

Well, he walked down TWO FLIGHTS of stairs today with just one hand and the stair rail for support!!!!! And he walked 150ft across grass without falling once. Supernanny and I have been working with him on the stairs--the grass has been all me.

 

In Feb, he wasn't even walking one step!

That is fantastic! Keep up the great work!:D

[chrfath]

Our DD is turning 7 next week. But we take a very laid back approach to learning with her. She is closer to 3-4 developmentally and we haven't really pushed her too much.

 

We are using Oak Meadow K with her in the fall. I also will be using the Woodbine books to introduce reading and math.

 

Your little guy sounds like he is just taking off with all your help. :001_smile:

[Reya]

He's learning at least a word a day now--THANK GOODNESS!

 

Yes, he will still be enormously delayed when he's K-age. But he won't be delayed for his dx at this rate.

 

Word of the day: Vacuum!

[dansamy]

Wow! Kudos to you for taking on all of this!