Training Aims

• To raise awareness of Down's syndrome.

• To understand a range of support strategies for children and young

people with Down’s syndrome in your setting.
 Defining Down's Syndrome
Down's syndrome is a genetic disorder. It occurs
in about 1 in every 1200 live births per year.

Down's syndrome was named after the

physician John Langdon Down in 1866.

Down’s syndrome occurs due to the presence of an extra

chromosome. Instead of the usual 46 chromosomes, a person with
Down’s syndrome has 47. This extra chromosome is found on the
21st pair - this is also why Down's syndrome is known as trisomy 21.

All children with Down’s syndrome will have some degree of

learning disability, although this can range from mild to severe.

Although Down’s syndrome is due to genetic factors,

environmental factors also play an important part in development.
 Defining Down's Syndrome
Children with Down's syndrome vary in their development and
progress as widely as typically developing children.

Generally speaking, children with Down's syndrome

arrive at their key milestones and stages of
development at a later age than peers of the same age.

The developmental gap between children with Down's

syndrome and their peers therefore widens with age.
 Strengths
Children and young people with Down’s syndrome have a range of specific learning
strengths and characteristics:

strong empathy for others

good visual memory

preference for visual learning

age appropriate self-help skills

natural strength for technology

 Support

Children with Down’s syndrome are not just delayed in their

development. They have specific learning difficulties, specific
strengths and specific areas in which they will need support.

Photo courtesy of commandcare (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence – attribution
 Facts About Down’s Syndrome
Please give us extra time
Speak slowly and clearly. Signs to answer questions.
may help us understand.

Please use pictures to

We love to make friends.
help me learn.

We enjoy learning through play.

Be patient with us.

Listen carefully to what we say and We love it when we

make sure we can see your face when receive praise like 'Well
you speak to us. done!' or 'Great job!'.
 Group Activity
Think of a child you have worked with or are currently working with that
has a diagnosis of Down’s syndrome.

Work in small groups to complete a one page profile on the child to detail
their strengths and areas for development.

What do you think are their main barriers to learning?

Supporting Pupils with Down's Syndrome
• Some children with Down’s syndrome may have auditory and visual
impairment.

• Some children may have associated medical conditions, including heart

conditions. Children with Down's syndrome often have some distinctive
facial and physical features and they are often shorter in height.

• They may have delayed fine and gross motor skills.

• Speech, language and communications skills are often delayed along

with the articulation of speech sounds, oral motor skills and hearing
sounds.
Supporting Pupils with Down's Syndrome

Some could have difficulties with generalisation, thinking and reasoning.

Children could have sequencing difficulties – use visual prompts to help.

Children may have sensory integration difficulties. Balance, spatial awareness and
touch may be impaired.

Acquisition of learning across the curriculum may be difficult. Some pupils with Down’s
syndrome will require a high level of support to access a mainstream curriculum.
Personalised planning and resources, differentiated activities that involve all learning
styles and close communication with all agencies involved with the pupil can all help.
 Strategies to Support
The next part of the training will offer a range of useful support strategies that
you could implement into your classroom provision to support pupils with
Down’s syndrome.

This is not an exhaustive list but a range of some of the possible strategies to
support pupils in the classroom environment.

Quality First Teaching

Pupils with Down’s syndrome should be adequately supported and

differentiated for within the mainstream classroom. This includes teachers using
a variety of learning styles (such as visual, auditory and kinaesthetic), careful
monitoring and assessment of pupils, liaison and planning time and support
within the classroom. Other key methods of support include interventions
mapped to the specific needs of a child and appropriate strategies to meet
these needs, including use of ICT, use of symbols and use of visual supports.
 Strategies to Support
Differentiation

Pupils with Down’s syndrome should receive appropriate differentiation across

all subjects, which could include:

• Extra processing time and adequate time to complete activities, especially

those that may be physical in nature.
• Activities matched to their strengths.
• Visual supports, such as word mats, sentence starters and writing frames.
• Use of devices to aid working memory, such as talking tins, recording
devices and talking pens.
• Small group work, peer support or adult support.
• Hands on, practical experiences with real-life resources, where possible.
• Regular rest breaks.

Careful thought should also be given to the pace of lessons, the amount of
information to be learnt and how it is acquired.
 Strategies to Support
• Use simple, clear language – Support pupils’ understanding of language by
keeping language clear, simple and free of ambiguity. Offer extra processing
time and ask pupils to repeat back instructions to check they have
understood.

• Variety of multisensory intervention programmes available – Support

pupils’ development in reading, writing and number skills. There is a wealth
of research to show that pupils with Down’s syndrome learn to read more
effectively through a purely sight-word approach.

• Use sign support – Use Makaton or BSL where appropriate to develop

communication and language skills.
 Strategies to Support
• Implement interventions for gross and fine motor skills – Support pupils
that may have sensory integration difficulties. Balance, spatial awareness
and touch may be impaired. Development of gross and fine motor skills
would be beneficial.

• Provide opportunities to overlearn concepts – Children may experience

difficulties with their short term and working memory. This can affect their
ability to consolidate learning and retain ideas. Regularly repeat learning to
move it from short to long term memory.