I have recently started keeping a child with Down's Syndrom. I would say she is very mild Down's. She speeks well for a 3 year old, but is very behind in fine motor skills, knows her colors and can count to 5. Does anyone have experience with teaching a Down's child and things that may help? I am homeschooling my 7 year old and don't want her to be left out, therefore I feel the need to do something with with her.
I haven't taught a child with downs, but my oldest son has motor delays, so I can relate. At 3, you can include her in a lot that a 7 year old would do. If you're reading aloud together, she can join you. If the 7 year old is doing a worksheet, the 3 year old can either color or finger paint (there are large, ball-shaped crayons for babies that may be easier for the 3 year old to grasp). You can teach her letter and number recognition by drawing in shaving cream, sidewalk chalk, pudding, a cookie sheet of dry rice/beans, etc. You can also get number/letter shaped cookie cutters to have her help you make cookies. She can count the eggs, help you stir the batter, identify shapes/colors/numbers, and the best part... decorating and eating. Is there a library storytime that both could attend? I would try treating her as much like a normal 3 year old as possible, encourage her to push through struggles, and only back off when necessary. She may surprise you. My son doesn't have a lot of strength or endurance, either (along with the motor delays), but there are some things he enjoys doing for 10 minutes that others enjoy doing for 30-60 minutes. As long as he's having fun and feeling like he's doing normal activities, I'm fine with only 10 minutes worth.
She doesn't like anything on her hands is the only problem with using finger paint and shaving cream. We did paper mâché today and she wouldn't participate with paste because she didn't want it on her hands. We are makin playdoh tomorrow so we will see about that...
Ah... ok. We went through that phase, too. Hopefully hers will pass. Mine has Asperger's and SPD as well. He sometimes makes things more difficult than they really are.
I have a son with Autism, so it's sorta kinda the same! LOL. She might have a sensory processing disorder too that's mild. I found a foam alphabet and number puzzle at Dollar General (if they have that store where you are...) and it works really well with teaching letters and numbers because they can look at the number/letter form all angles and it's not just a letter on a piece of paper. To help her fine motor skills you can buy a big set of "tweezers" from http://www.therapyshoppe.com/therapy/. Have her try and pick up puff balls with it. This si something we do with Paddy and it really helps! Make it a game! Reading aloud is also good, song games are great, and even obstacle courses are great. If you want her to write and color it might help her fine motor skills of you prop up the paper or putting it on a verticle surface. This works their fine motor skills and can make it easier to draw/write/color. Sometimes we put Paddy's work on the fridge so he can write on it! If she has a problem holding the pencil or crayon the correct way then put a marker cap in her pinky and ring finger to hold on to. this allows her three other fingers to grasp the pencil ot crayon in the right way. This will also strengthen her hands so she wont need the marker cap in the future. If you do this, then have patience in the beginning if she doesn't like how it feels. It takes some getting used to! If I think of more things to write I'll come back here, but right now that's what I can think of! I hope it helps!
I'd just say treat the child as you would any other child and include her in whatever activities you're doing. She'll have preferences, like any other child, such as not to have stuff on her hands, but just work around that like you ordinarily would. She prolly will just need more repetition to remember certain things, but then we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
