a. Research on each of your individuals specified disability (20 pts)
i. Obtain information on your students’ specific disability
- Students with Down syndrome (DS) tend to have a variety of defects due to a chromosomal condition that causes a partial or full duplication of the 21st chromosome. Generally, those with DS can be identified with flat facial features, an upward slant of the eyes, and a larger tongue. Along with that, those with DS tend to struggle with neurological impairments, musculoskeletal abnormalities, respiratory disorders, obesity, and some type of heart defect or thyroid issue.
- Despite the difficulties individuals with DS may have, they also have many strengths. Although children with DS may tend to learn how to speak later than normal, they tend to learn to use gestures and non-verbal cues sooner. With that, they excel in the area of visual processing.
- All of these things are important to know when working with those with Down syndrome so that any potential issues can be identified if not already known. This also helps in terms of lesson planning so mentors and teachers can already have an idea of what type of activities may be best for an individual with DS.
b. Any contraindications for specific individual within unit (Aquatics, Motor Skills, and Fitness) (5 pts)
- Those with Down syndrome are often known to wander, have attention deficit issues, and can have obsessive behaviors. This can be a problem when it comes to any type of activity--it's important that mentors know how to keep their mentees interested and focused on the activity at all times, while also keeping some sort of routine each day so mentees feel comfortable with wherever and whatever they're supposed to be doing.
- Many individuals with DS are visual learners so it's important to physically show an activity prior to beginning as it could help them understand better and, in turn, help with their success rate.
- Instability is also an issue due to their musculoskeletal abnormalities so participating in high impact or repetitive activities may cause fatigue and potential injury in children with DS. It's important to help reduce impact as much as possible and help students with balance whenever needed to prevent any injury.
c. Additional information obtained from parents, professionals, etc. (5 pts)
- Since children with DS are more visual learners, it's important to keep any instruction short and sweet both to help with retention and to prevent potential behavior issues.
- When working with those with Down syndrome, it's advised that a behavior treatment plan should be implemented. Specifically, the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) says to use the ABC's of behavior--Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence of the behavior. With this model, the mentor would be able to anticipate what activities/commands cause the mentee's opposition before any consequence would have to be used. In terms of attention deficits and autistic behaviors, medication could be prescribed if issues are prominent enough.
CITATIONS
Arumugam, A., Raja, K., Venugopalan, M., Chandrasekaran, B., Sampath, K. K., Muthusamy, H., & Shanmugam, N. (2015, December 10). Down syndrome—A narrative review with a focus on anatomical features. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ca.22672/abstract
Benaroch, R. (2017, March 18). What Are the Symptoms of Down Syndrome? Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.webmd.com/children/understanding-down-syndrome-symptoms#2
Deckers, S. M., Van Zaalen, Y., Stoep, J., Van Balkom, H., & Verhoeven, L. (2016). Communication Performance of Children with down Syndrome: An ICF-CY Based Multiple Case Study. Child Language Teaching And Therapy, 32(3), 293-311.
Down syndrome - Genetics Home Reference. (2017, April 18). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/down-syndrome
Patterson, B. (n.d.). Managing Behavior and Down Syndrome. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.ndss.org/Resources/Wellness/Managing-Behavior/