Down Syndrome Classroom

Education is a very important aspect in everyone’s lives we are often pressure perhaps to finish school and to others it becomes a natural order in life to finish school. We often take the time to understand children in general education classrooms in order to better our education system but it is also important to understand how children with Down syndrome develop and interact in a classroom in order to provide a better education for them. This paper will explain to the reader the different methods of successfully interacting with children with Down syndrome and creating a positive relationship among the classroom, which is the topic that I will be covering today. Not only will I cover how to interact with children with Down syndrome, but

how inclusion benefits them in the classroom, and how do teachers implement their IEP throughout the school year. It is important to understand how children with Down syndrome develop because they are part of our society, they contribute to everything we do just like a normal person will do of course they have different methods of contributing but they are here with us. For years people saw children with Down syndrome as a burden, and to this day some people might think that children with Down syndrome are useless most often this people have zero knowledge of everything a child with Down syndrome can do, we can no longer hide children with special needs nor should we feel the need to do so.
Down syndrome as defined by the National Down Syndrome Society “Occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.” (NDSS) To better explain what Down Syndrome is and what they meant by an extra copy of chromosome 21 I will provide a detailed explanation, When a fetus is developing there are genes that carry codes, this codes are responsible for everything that we inherit such as traits, typically each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, in a case with a child with Down Syndrome, the child has an extra copy resulting in the different development of a baby with Down Syndrome.

(NDSS) The extra chromosome is also responsible for the characteristics associated with Down syndrome such as low muscle tone, upward slant to the eyes, and small stature. Although these are common characteristics associated with Down syndrome, just like a normal child every child with Down syndrome is unique and may or may not have all the characteristics that are associated with their development.” Down syndrome occurs in every 600-800 live births, and is not related to race, nationality, religion or socioeconomic status.” (DSA of West

Michigan)
It’s important for teachers across the nation to understand how to interact with children with Down syndrome, especially for teachers who are looking into teaching special education.

As I extended my research and looked at several articles and study cases I was able to narrow down a few key points when it comes to teaching children with Down syndrome. It’s important to understand what Down syndrome is most importantly because that will give you an insight look into their disability. It’s also very important to use people first language, as I was able to learn, “Don’t say “Down syndrome girl.” Use the child’s name and if needed, add that she has Down syndrome.” (DSEA) This is important because children with Down syndrome have a name just like anyone else and it’s important for them to understand that they are not just the student with Down syndrome and it’s also important for their peers to understand and to think of student’s with Down syndrome as people first before anything else. Another important key factor is for the student to have access to communication system, as we may all know children with Down syndrome do not have the adequate communication skills to communicate in the classroom therefore it’s highly important for the teacher to provide a helpful alternative communication system in order to ensure that the student is able to communicate his or her needs in the classroom. Another factor that is important when it comes to teaching a child with special needs such as

Down syndrome is to pay attention to how you treat that particular student because as a role model in your classroom you “set the tone” for others to follow. “Assume competency rather than incompetency.” (DSEA) When teaching a student with down syndrome it’s not only important for you as a teacher to understand the needs of a student with Down syndrome but it is also important for your student’s to be aware of the disability, it’s important for them to be aware. Identifying how your student learns and involving his or her parents go hand in hand because joining forces with the child’s parents will increase your chances of successfully achieving a positive teaching environment for a child with Down syndrome. In one of the content articles that I read it stated, “Children with Down syndrome CAN learn, but all children learn differently.” (DSEA) this idea of course comes with common sense, we are all aware that students learn differently but in order to prevent that from being an obstacle it is important for us as educators to understand and incorporate the most effective methods of learning. Involving the student’s parent can also help the teacher in the classroom because they know their child best and they can and most likely will provide adequate methods that they are aware are helpful to their kid. It’s important for the teacher to create a solid and positive relationship with the student’s parent. As suggested in one of the articles, it is recommended to not wait until the IEP meeting to interact with the parent’s but to do so before any meeting takes place this will also ensure a trust relationship amongst the teacher and the parents.