chrfath816

I read regularly and have gotten some great advice here. Thanks!

Our DD has down syndrome, she will be 3 next month. I was looking
over some developmental guidelines to get some ideas to keep her
moving along.

I don't like thinking in these terms, but she isn't a typical child
and I get nervous. But I don't want to make things lessons for her.

I need ideas for basic concepts. Matching, colors, photo
recognition, that sort of thing. Today we tried matching colored
buttons with her stacking cups. No go - she just wanted to dump and
pour them.

I just worry, I never sat and taught DS stuff like this. I just
worry with DD I don't know why. The reading I have done says
children with Ds don't learn incidentally. Is that just because
they have all been force fed? Is she just not ready for these
concepts?

It is really hard - when everyone raves about preschool and peer
modeling. I know I don't want that for her, but how much do I have
to push to help her be her best?

Sorry for all the questions, I am mostly thinking outloud. Hoping
to explain what I am asking.

Thanks,
Christi
Wheatley(8) and Veronica(2)

[email protected]

<<Children with DS don't learn incidentally>>

I don't believe this. Problem is that most schools are truly pushing DS kids to function like typical children. The other problem is that in the past DS people were pushed to the background and warehoused. Unschooling couldn't be further from either of those things. Play with her. Enjoy her. Take her with you and engage her in everything you do. She will learn.

I used to work at what was basically a nursing home for profoundly retarded youngsters. Those kids learned a lot that was never "taught" to them. One knew how to drive the techs crazy by blowing out his feeding tube plug right after they put in when he was finished eating....what a mess but he loved it. Another had very, very limited speech but what he could say was "Dr. Pepper, please."

Julie S.

----- Original Message -----
From: chrfath816 <chrfath@...>
Date: Saturday, March 18, 2006 1:55 pm
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Help with toddler concepts.

> I read regularly and have gotten some great advice here. Thanks!
>
> Our DD has down syndrome, she will be 3 next month. I was looking
> over some developmental guidelines to get some ideas to keep her
> moving along.
>
> I don't like thinking in these terms, but she isn't a typical
> child
> and I get nervous. But I don't want to make things lessons for her.
>
> I need ideas for basic concepts. Matching, colors, photo
> recognition, that sort of thing. Today we tried matching colored
> buttons with her stacking cups. No go - she just wanted to dump
> and
> pour them.
>
> I just worry, I never sat and taught DS stuff like this. I just
> worry with DD I don't know why. The reading I have done says
> children with Ds don't learn incidentally. Is that just because
> they have all been force fed? Is she just not ready for these
> concepts?
>
> It is really hard - when everyone raves about preschool and peer
> modeling. I know I don't want that for her, but how much do I
> have
> to push to help her be her best?
>
> Sorry for all the questions, I am mostly thinking outloud. Hoping
> to explain what I am asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Christi
> Wheatley(8) and Veronica(2)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Krisula Moyer

>>Our DD has down syndrome, she will be 3 next month. I was looking over
some developmental guidelines to get some ideas to keep her moving along.

I don't like thinking in these terms, but she isn't a typical child and I
get nervous. But I don't want to make things lessons for her.

I need ideas for basic concepts. Matching, colors, photo recognition, that
sort of thing. Today we tried matching colored buttons with her stacking
cups. No go - she just wanted to dump and pour them.<<



Hang in there. Finding things that may attract her attention and that would
be fun for her is great. Good job. When she finds something else to do
with the stuff you got out, that's good. Go with it. Dumping and pouring
out of cups is an excellent activity for little kids to engage in. Heck,
3yos in expensive Montessori schools do it for hours. She came up with that
activity so it's what she needs to learn and do right now. Join in. Have
fun. Colors will come some other time when you least expect them. Really
truly they will. When they do, you can be ready to play with her happily
there too.

So keep bringing in stuff to broaden her world and her understanding but if
she finds something to do with the stuff that isn't what you had in mind,
celebrate. Take notice. *That's* when real learning is taking place.

It might help you to talk to other parents who's kids also have Downs and
are a little older. I'll bet all their kids learned all the things people
call "toddler concepts" when they were ready. You might try Anne Ohman's
yahoogroup "shine with unschooling" if you're not already on that for some
reassurance. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shinewithunschooling/

Peace,

Krisula



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

wifetovegman2002

--- In [email protected], "Krisula Moyer"
<krisula@...> wrote:
>
> You might try Anne Ohman's
> yahoogroup "shine with unschooling" if you're not already on that
for some
> reassurance. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shinewithunschooling/
>


Hmmm....Anne's list isn't for discussing "special needs", though. It
is for talking about how *all* children shine with unschooling and
celebrating their unique gifts. Parents are told to leave labels at
the door when joining the Shine list.

So if she needs help seeing past the label and accepting and
celebrating who her daughter is right now, the list would help, but
not so much if she is searching for ideas for how to do at-home
therapy or developmental activities.

Your suggestions, though, Krisula, are the same as what she would find
on Shine...to enjoy her daughter right now, and participate in those
activities her daughter is drawn to, trusting that she will seek out
what she needs when she is ready.

~Susan M in VA
wifetovegman