"Having Down syndrome is like being born normal. I am just like you and you are just like me. We are all born in different ways, that is the way I can describe it. I have a normal life"(Burke, C., n.d.). Where special education is concerned, one must always remember that exceptional learners are different, not less. In the following studies, the various strengths and weaknesses of the language and communication of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is reviewed and discussed. Language is defined as the method of human communication either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words, in a structured or conventional way. Communication is the interaction or exchange of information or news(Webster, 2013). Down syndrome, a genetic disorder, is the most common cause for intellectual disabilities, occurring at an average of one out of every 700 births (CDS, 2006). This disorder is caused by the extra chromosome 21 (also known as Trisomy 21). According to Hassold and Sherman (2002), the probability of giving birth to a child with DS is not linked to any race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or geographic location. Maternal age seems to be the only etiological factor that may cause DS. Some characteristics of DS are: deep folds at the corners of the eyes, hypotonia, short stature, flexible joints, small oral cavity and heart defects (Taylor, Richards, & Brady, 2005). Most individuals with DS have a moderate intellectual disability, although there is a range of disability, from severe to high functioning (IQ above 70). Since DS is a birth defect and not a disease, there are no treatment options. Improvement can be made through physicians, special education, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and psychol... ... middle of paper ... ...sek J. (2009). Language Characteristics in Individuals with Down Syndrome. National Institutes of Health. pp.112-132. Lecas, J., Mazaud A., & Reibel, E.(2011). Using Visual Strategies to Support Verbal Comprehension in Adolescent with Down Syndrome. Child Language Teaching and Therapy 27(1) 84-96. Vilaseca, R. & Del Rio M. (2004). Language acquisition by children with Down syndrome: a naturalistic approach to assisting language acquisition. Child Language Teaching and Therapy pp. 163-180. Adamson, L., Bakerman, R., Deckner, D. & Romskey, M.(2008). Joint Engagement and the Emergence of Language in Children with Autism and Down Syndrome. Cleave, P., Bird, E., Czutrin, R., & Smith, L.(2012) A Longitudinal Study of Narrative Development in Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. pp. 332-342. page 11
Communication is the very first thing one learns as soon as he or she is born, crying when something upsetting happens or laughing to show contentment. However, as one ages, they begin to realize that using words to express thoughts and feelings is a great deal harder than manipulating sounds and actions. Author Toni Bambara of “Raymond’s Run” and Lauren Tarshis of “Stuttering Doesn’t Hold Me Back” have similar views on the difficulty of speaking up. Bambara writes about a boy called Raymond who has Down Syndrome and communicates with others in a special way, as he cannot utilize his words. “Stuttering Doesn’t Hold Me Back” is an inspiring story regarding a young student facing the challenges of her disorder. Both writings consider the idea that we all have our own methods of conversing, and we need to accept and understand that it is normal.
Special needs is a generic term used in a clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be a medical, mental, or psychological defect. Examples of disabilities include autism, Down syndrome, dyslexia, blindness and others. Statistics show that .14% of babies are born with Down syndrome, which is one in every 691 babies (Statistics of Children with SN). Although Down syndrome is a well-known problem and disability, professionals are trained to enforce verbal skills and symbolic play, as well as asking volunteers to participate in community involvement with special needs children.
Research projects in down syndrome. (2014). Retrieved January 26, 2014, from Center for Mind and Brain website: http://mindbrain.ucdavis.edu/labs/Rivera/research-areas/down-syndrome
...ility, they are weak and are not as vigorous/ active as kids that don’t have down syndrome. Many kids with translocation down syndrome function differently than others because they have to deal with mental and physical problems unlike others and often need physical therapy. Not only that, kids with this disorder take intervention classes to try to improve the disorder as well as try to improve their physical, mental and intellectual abilities. Also, kids with down syndrome are slow in motor development(the ability to control one’s body movement’s). They also have verbal short-term memory loss.At school, kids with down syndrome should interact with others to build a foundation of social abilities allowing the child to be more sociable and participate in discussions in class. This will improve the level of functioning of a child with translocation down syndrome.
Down syndrome is a very common disorder now a day’s, but not many know what it actually is. Down syndrome was a topic that was not as common back in that day. “John Langdon Down, an English physician, published an accurate description of a person with Down syndrome. It was this scholarly
Children with Down syndrome are normally smaller, and their physical and mental improvements are slower compared to children who are unaffected.Some of the physical features in children have flattening of the back of the head, slanting of the eyelids, small skin folds at the inner corner of the eyes, depressed nasal bridge, slightly smaller ears, smal...
Stothard, M., Snowling, M., Bishop, D., Chipchase, B., & Kaplan, C. (1998). Language-impaired preschoolers: a follow-up into adolescence. Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 407-418.
There are 400,000 people with Down Syndrome in The United States. They are people with developmental delays just like Charlie Gordon. People with developmental delays have a harder time processing things. Developmental delays affect a person's learning, language, physical, and behavioral areas. The short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes tells us about Charlie's life through his progress reports. Charlie always dreamed of being smart. They offered him a chance to have an experimental brain operation to triple his intelligence and he took the offer. After his operation he started to learn many new things. His progress reports improved in spelling and punctuation. He started to work in the research lab and gather data of his own. After
Vocabulary is an important aspect in understanding and expressing language and Caselli et al., and Mervis & Robinson explain that children with Down syndrome have been shown to demonstrate significant delays and hampered growth in expressive vocabulary (As cited in Berglund, Eriksson, & Johansson, 2001). There has not been much evidence on specific treatments to address children's limited vocabulary production. However, the research has focused on particular approaches that may facilitate vocabulary growth, which include vocal imitation through milieu teaching (Chapman, 1997), introducing signing as a way to inadvertently increase vocabulary (Clibbens, 2001;Berglund, Eriksson & Johansson, 2001; Chapman, 1997) and focused stimulation (Girolametto, Weitzman & Clements-Baartman, 1998).
The children and babies were introduced to school at a very young age to ensure the true potential the children possess shines through intellectually and physically. By law in the United States, children with Down syndrome were exposed to suitable and public education immune of any cost. Because of the feeble muscle structure, penmanship was not the most notable strong suit. (Routh, 28) Along with substandard handwriting, students with Down syndrome typically have below par IQ scores as well. The ratings span from satisfactory-to-mediocrely low ranges. This is because people with Down syndrome are inclined to enhance more gradually than others both physically and intellectually. Even though minors with Down syndrome are not physically built the same way as others, they will still undergo strong emotions. Though they are prone to being generally happy, they will lash out negatively when they are offended by rude remarks or ill-mannered deeds from peers. In order to cope with these mixed feelings, there are support groups and community organizations open to patients and parents spread out all over the United States. These programs main priority is to aid the families who are blessed to have a child with Down syndrome. As these individuals mature into adults, they generally choose to work along the fields of banks, corporations, hotels, hospitals,
“Educating Peter” is a documentary that depicts the story of a little boy name Peter Gwazdauskas, a child with Down Syndrome, who from the start of his educational experience up to the 3rd grade attended classes with children who were like himself. However, at the completion of his second-grade year, a Federal law was passed that required children with disabilities be educated in regular classes with normal children. The documentary covers the first year of Peter’s experience in a regular classroom. The first half of the documentary shows how Peter struggled to adjust to being in a new environment. It also showed how the teacher and other students struggled to cope with Peter and his unpredictable behavior. Peter had a difficult time expressing himself, following direction, and staying on task. This caused Peter to have frequent verbally and physically violent outburst in the class.
Peter is a white, young adult male who has Down syndrome. His interactions with others are inconsistent. When he is engaged in an activity or process, Peter can be well behaved and cooperative. On the other hand, Peter’s interactions can be very erratic and disruptive. He had trouble following directions, becomes frustrated, and can lash out at times. Peter struggles to learn social skills and fails to pick up on social cues. Many of the social skills that Peter does have seem to be memorized and are not fully understood. He is dependent on others, but could have a happy future
Studies have shown that there are several benefits to an inclusive education for students with Down syndrome (National Down Syndrome Society). Since 1996, the National Down Syndrome Society has done research on the inclusion of young students with Down syndrome in general education classrooms (National Down Syndrome Society). The study has found that students with Down syndrome had similar learning characteristics, more so than different when compared to their nondisabled peers (National Down Syndrome Society). Teachers that were involved in this study, reported that they had more positive experiences with students with Down syndrome when they were grouped with their nondisabled peers (National Down Syndrome
...d to determine exactly which part of the language is innate and universal so that humans can further uncover the valuable mechanism.
Language acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language with natural communication while children are acquiring the foreign language. Children usually concerned with message which they are conveying and understand not with the form of utterances. These utterances are initiated by the acquired systems and the fluency of language is based on what we have ‘picked up’ through active communication. Both formal knowledge and conscious learning of the second language learning may be alternate to the output of the system, sometimes before and sometimes after the