including and teaching children with down syndrome in head start classrooms
DESCRIPTION
Including and Teaching Children with Down Syndrome in Head Start Classrooms. Susan Sandall Head Start Center for Inclusion [email protected]. Head Start Center for Inclusion. Goal - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Including and Teaching Children with Down Syndrome in Head
Start Classrooms
Susan Sandall
Head Start Center for Inclusion
Head Start Center for Inclusion
• Goal– To increase the competence, confidence,
and effectiveness of personnel in Head Start programs to include children with disabilities
• Guiding Principles– The success of inclusion depends on
everyone realizing that it involves much more than children “just being there”.
– Inclusion refers to the full and active participation of young children with disabilities in everyday settings.
What is Down Syndrome?
• Developmental disability
• Three copies of the 21st chromosome (rather than two)
• Associated with cognitive disability
Remember…
• Individuals with Down syndrome attend school, work, participate in family and community activities, make decisions, and contribute to society in many ways.
Early Identification
• 1 in 733 babies
• Occurs in people of all races and economic levels
• Incidence increases with age of mother
Rat
e P
er 1
,000
100.0
Maternal Age30
10.0
1.0
35 40 4515
Down Syndrome Rate Per 1,000 Livebirths by Maternal Age
20
Adapted from Hook E. B.
25
Early Identification
• 1 in 733 babies • Occurs in people of all races and
economic levels• Incidence increases with age of
mother• Originally named based on collection
of “symptoms” or characteristics
Hall's Cardinal Signs (1966)
1. Flat facial profile2. Absent Moro3. Hypotonia4. Dysplastic ear5. Webbing at neck6. Oblique palpebral fissures7. Hyperflexible joints8. Dysplastic pelvis9. Dysplastic middle phalanx - 5th finger10. Simian crease
Early Identification
• 1 in 733 babies • Occurs in people of all races and
economic levels• Incidence increases with age of
mother• Originally named based on
collection of “symptoms” or characteristics
• Prenatal diagnosis
Three Forms of Down Syndrome
• Trisomy 21– 95%
• Translocation– 3-4%
• Mosaic– 1-2%
Associated Medical and Health Concerns
• Congenital heart disease• Sensory deficits
– Hearing– Vision
• Endocrine abnormalities• Orthopedic problems• Dental problems• Obesity• Others
• Many of these medical conditions are treatable, so many individuals with Down syndrome lead healthy, active lives.
• Life expectancy for individuals with Down syndrome has increased dramatically.
Early Intervention
• Most children with Down syndrome participate in infant-toddler (Part C of IDEA) programs and/or other special services
Part C of IDEA
• Birth to third birthday• IFSP• Early education, therapies, other
services, family support• Variety of service delivery options
– Home visiting– Groups (play groups, child care,
preschool)
Early Childhood
• Part B of IDEA• IEP• Early education, therapies, family
support• Variety of service delivery options and
settings– Classroom, itinerant services, consultation,
dual enrollment
Meeting the Needs of Children with Down
Syndrome
• Delays and disabilities across developmental domains
Early development performance of Down’s syndrome children raised at home compared to that of normal children. The widest point in each diamond represents the average age for performance, and the spread of the diamonds represents the range.
Smile
Age in years
4
Down’s syndrome progress
Normal progress
5 6 71 2 3 8 9 10
Sit
Walk
Words
Toilet Training
Birth
Meeting the Needs of Children with Down
Syndrome
• Delays and disabilities across developmental domains
• Modifications
• Direct or deliberate teaching
• Embedded within ongoing activities and routines
Physical Development and Intervention
• Hypotonia• Refine gross motor skills• Incorporate social aspects (play games,
playground equipment)• Refine fine motor skills• Handwriting and tool use are difficult• Importance of direct teaching• Caution: orthopedic concerns
Speech and Language Development and Intervention
• Functional communication system– Verbal speech– Sign language (total communication)– Picture systems; AAC
• Comprehension• Vocabulary building
– Reading
• Two areas of difficulty– Syntax– Intelligibility
• Caution: hearing loss
Cognitive Development and Intervention
• Mild to moderate delays• Importance of direct teaching• Divide tasks into small steps• Repetition and practice• Praise and other forms of reinforcement• Visual supports and real objects• Prompts (but aim for independence)
Self-help Development and Intervention
• Divide tasks into small steps• Repetition and practice• Praise and other forms of
reinforcement• Visual supports and real objects• Prompts (but aim for independence)• Toilet training
– Determine readiness, work with family, work with special educator
Social-Emotional Development
• Awareness and interest in peers - area of strength
• Delays in physical, language, cognitive skills may interfere
• Low stamina• Importance of direct teaching -
what skill is needed to participate?
Challenging Behavior
• Common behavioral concerns– Wandering off– Stubborn/oppositional behavior– Attention problems
Addressing Behavioral Challenges
• Rule out a medical problem that might be related to the behavior (e.g., hearing)
• Use principles of positive behavior support
• Identify the function of the behavior and develop a plan
Schooling and Adulthood
• Elementary and Secondary School– Reading, writing, math– Individual differences– Inclusion
• Adulthood– Work– Meaningful participation– Health
25 year follow-upHanson, 2003
• N=12 (15 in original sample)• Participated in home-based EI
for 3 years (1974-1977)• Weekly visits, behavioral,
parents as teachers• Semi-structured interviews,
parents and children
Findings
• Parent perceptions and experiences (positive characteristics, positive aspects of child rearing, sorrows & difficulties, hopes)
• Supports and services for families (advocates, importance of early intervention)
• Children’s educational placements
• Children’s lives in adulthood
Importance of…
• Quality educational programs
• Responsive home environments
• Good health care
• Support from family, friends and the community
For long and fulfilling lives.(National Down Syndrome Society, 2009)