Psycho-pedagogical tips

Escrito por:  Maria

Down’s syndrome is not a disease, it is a chromosomal anomaly that causes specific morphological and behavioural characteristics specific to people with Down’s syndrome.

In general, people with Down’s syndrome have the following characteristics:

– slowed and reduced body and head growth, which ultimately results in the maximum stature achieved being smaller compared to that of people who do not have the syndrome.

– Slowed motor and cognitive development.

– Immunodeficiency problems.

In the last 25 years, significant advances have been made in the development and education of children with Down syndrome. It is therefore important that the professionals who care for them emphasise from the first moments of life on the positive aspects and on the real capacities that they could achieve during their childhood, youth and adulthood, and not so much on the difficulties that may arise in the process.

Children with Down’s syndrome may frequently show some medical conditions such as hearing disorders, visual impairment, some congenital heart diseases, respiratory problems, gastric and skeletal anomalies.

In order to promote the proper development of these children and adolescents in the classroom, it is essential to be aware of their individual medical conditions in order to help them adapt and function properly.

At school, although it is easy to distinguish them by certain physical characteristics, it must be taken into account that despite the similar physical appearance, the variability among them is comparable or even greater than among people without the syndrome.

Defining a personality pattern for people with Down’s syndrome has generated several myths about them. However, some general personality characteristics can be given without necessarily indicating that they apply to everyone.

In general, they tend to be children with little initiative, less capacity for inhibition, a tendency to persistence in behaviour, resistance to change, low capacity to respond to the environment and the presence of constancy, tenacity and punctuality when carrying out tasks they like.

The characteristics of the syndrome bring with them a series of implications that will be reflected in the behaviour and physical and cognitive development of these children. The most noteworthy aspects of these areas and the recommended actions in each one are the following:

Motor skills: Muscle hypotonia and ligament laxity are common in children with Down syndrome. There is usually a certain degree of motor clumsiness, both gross (in arms and legs) and fine (eye-hand coordination). They show slowness and poor coordination. This must be taken into account in order to have the appropriate physical exercise for each child.

 

In terms of their diet, the practice of sport will provide them with the physical fitness and stamina they need, helping to improve their state of health, preserving their emotional wellbeing and controlling their tendency to become overweight as their basal metabolism is slower.

They tend to have difficulty in maintaining their focus, they find it difficult to give an answer because the time they take to process information is longer.

Their attention requires specific training to be improved:

Strategies:

  1. Look at them attentively when they are spoken to.
  2. Check that they are constantly paying attention
  3. Remove distracting stimuli
  4. Present stimuli one at a time
  5. Avoid sending different messages at the same time

Babies and children process visual information better than auditory information. This can be explained by the fact that because of hearing problems the brain’s hearing processing processes may be impaired.

While it is clear that the syndrome is accompanied by an intellectual disability, it is not physically visible or accompanied by other pathologies. In IQ tests, they reach a mild or moderate level of impairment.

They have problems in retaining information, both in short-term and long-term memory. However, their procedural and working memory is well developed, allowing them to carry out mechanical tasks with accuracy.

With regard to language, they are at a greater disadvantage, as they show a significant delay in language skills, although with great variability from one person to another. It is advisable for language to be worked on individually at school by a speech therapy specialist.

In terms of sociability, without adequate systemic interaction, the level of spontaneous interaction that a person with Down’s syndrome will achieve will be very low. They are generally friendly, affectionate, cooperative, and affable. They adapt to inclusive situations to their own benefit and to the benefit of their peers. A person with Down’s syndrome who has been correctly stimulated and trained since childhood will be able to participate in more advanced stages of development in social and recreational activities with complete normality, move around the city using public transport, and even use public and commercial establishments independently.