Educating Learners With Down Syndrome

For individuals with Down syndrome, the extent of the effect of intellectual disability depends largely on the degree of provision of appropriate support and intervention. In Educating Learners with Down Syndrome, editors Rhonda Faragher and Barbara Clarke have brought together a number of expert contributors, whose chapters review recent findings in the field of DS education, highlight promising practices, and identify areas for future research. While the emphasis is primarily on the school years, links to early intervention and to life post-16 are made, with chapters organized into three parts: conceptual overview of issues in learning and teaching, learning mathematics, and literacy development. The book is also united by the cohesive themes of assessment, evidence-based practice, and inclusive practices. Educating Learners with Down Syndrome importantly incorporates the voices of individuals with Down syndrome, whose personal narratives add significance to the research mission of the text and demonstrate the authors' inclusive philosophy. Aimed at researchers, teacher educators, higher degree students, and policy makers, this book is the first of its kind to provide a compendium of research on educating learners with Down syndrome.

This practical handbook offers advice on strategies for meeting the special educational needs of children with Down's syndrome in mainstream schools. The aim is to increase the confidence of support assistants, teachers, SENCOs and senior managers in both primary and secondary schools in providing a quality education for these pupils, while using scarce resources to best effect. The author offers an introduction to the particular characteristics of children with Down's syndrome and their impact on learning and behaviour. She considers the benefits of inclusive education and the most effective ways in which the National Curriculum can be made accessible. She also examines working with the whole-school, parents and outside agencies, as well as providing practical resources such as photocopiable proformas and checklists, materials for INSET in schools and support services and a list of reading materials.

Discover the keys to teaching children and adults with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities how to read for meaning. Written for today's busy parents and teachers, this easy-to-use guide explains how to go in through the heart to hook beginning and struggling readers, but then how to teach to the brain; so that learning is fast and permanent. The methods in the book can be adapted for learners of any age who are reading at a third grade level or below. If you have at least five minutes a day to work on reading, you have enough time to get started using Whole Child Reading!

American reading programme that ensures success by presenting lessons which are both imaginative and functional and which can be tailored to meet the needs of each student

Educating learners with Down syndrome can seem daunting at first, but this practical guide for teachers and carers to using evidence-based practices shows you how. Taking a unique lifespan, curriculum-based approach, Rhonda M. Faragher promotes the understanding that people with Down syndrome are a diverse group with vast potential and varied learning needs. The book covers core learning areas such as literacy, numeracy, mathematics, science, and the Humanities, and features key points from the research literature, teaching strategies, practitioner vignettes, and personal stories from people with Down syndrome. It considers learning from birth and early intervention, through primary and secondary school, to post-secondary education and into various contexts of adulthood. Drawing on the latest research, this guide for educators is rich with strategies, as well as tips from other parents and teachers, providing an accessible and empowering resource for the delivery of quality education to benefit learners with Down syndrome.

The Reading and Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome (RLI) teaches language and literacy skills following evidence-based principles adapted to meet the children’s specific learning needs. It is designed for pupils with Down syndrome aged 5 to 11 years. The intervention is suitable for beginning readers through to those with reading ages up to 8 years and for students with a wide range of language abilities. Teaching is adapted to meet individual needs through initial assessments of skills and regular monitoring of progress. Together with two accompanying DVDs illustrating teaching techniques and a CD of resources, the handbook offers teachers and teaching assistants the detailed guidance, assessment tools and example teaching materials needed to implement the intervention.

Parents of children with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities are accustomed to paying close attention to their child's physical, cognitive, and emotional development. This proactive approach should also include their child's sexual development, which for many parents may not seem as obvious or urgent, especially to those with young children. Drawing on her unique background as both a sexual educator and mother of a child with Down syndrome, the author blends factual information and practical ideas for teaching children with Down syndrome about their bodies, puberty, and sexuality. This book gives parents the confidence to speak comfortably about these sometimes difficult subjects. In an easy-to-read, non-clinical style, the book covers relevant issues and concerns for children of all ages, such as: Labelling & explaining private body parts; Identifying & expressing emotions; Respecting personal space; Teaching self-care & hygiene; Understanding norms of privacy; Understanding gender identity; Showing appropriate levels of affection. It also covers later issues that affect teenagers and young adults, including: Anticipating and understanding puberty; Dealing with periods, bras for girls; Experiencing erections, wet dreams for boys; Relating to the opposite sex; Sharing parental values about sexuality; Explaining sexual relationships; Preventing sexual abuse; Understanding how Down syndrome affects puberty & fertility rates. Each chapter highlights important points with key messages, teaching activities, parental pauses, and anecdotes, all of which prompt readers to stop and consider concepts or values associated with a particular topic. The final chapter covers the special concerns of parents who are now teaching teenaged or adult children about sexuality for the first time. It concludes with extensive appendices containing invaluable teaching materials and illustrations of body parts and functions.