How to tailor the learning to the strength of the child
There is no doubt that Children with Down's syndrome learn better when they see things visually, but how can we do this to best support our children and young people? Here are 5 top tips to help your child be the best that they can be.
1. Use objects
The easiest visual support you can use with your child is a real object because they don’t have to make a representational link. The ability to hold, feel and explore objects will help understanding. If you’re asking if they want an orange, show them an orange. If you’re teaching a new word, show them it. The It may seem obvious, but these simple things can really help support your child’s learning and development of language.
2. Use pictures
Photographs of real objects are the next level of visual support you can use. Photos while two dimensional do give a real representation of what you are talking about. Pictures, line drawings and symbols can be very abstract, so it is often best to use photos before you move on to line drawings and then symbols
3. Use gestures
Gestures and sign language are a massive part of helping your child’s learning, especially their ability to learn and understand words. You could use Makaton or Singalong (or another one more suited to your family). By signing together, you are enabling more effective communication which will led to much less frustration (for you and your child). It builds a link to speech and allows children to learn to say words orally and develop their vocabulary.
4. Play games
Make learning fun. You can turn a simple game of pairs into an exciting team battle by introducing different ways of playing. Choose your pairs by swotting the card with a fly swotter, attach paper clip and with a simple magnet you have a fishing game, or head outside for a race where you must find and bring the matching card back to the start. The list is endless, and any learning game can be tweaked and changed to keep it exciting. There’s lots of interactive ways to get involved with our projects, like this ‘Being Active’ downloadable resources from Learning for Life’s ‘Being Healthy’ series.
5. Repeat, repeat, repeat
As with any child repetition is key! We so often find its actually the adult that gets bored and wants to move on, not the child. You can work on the same concepts in a variety of ways, mix it up and make it a game, but remember that repetition and overlearning are key.