Has any taught preschool age kids with Downs Syndrome

amother

OP ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 4:53 pm

If you are a teacher , what are your expectations (length of time) for a preschool age child with DS to sit?
If a child with Downs Syndrome is in a mainstream classroom and she/he can't sit for a long time, the content of the lessons are not meaningful to her/him, is it unrealistic to force them to sit when it seems like they can't or do they need to be treated like the rest of the class and be expected to sit for long periods of time?

amother

Dill ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 5:12 pm

Expectation should be within the child's ability. You can decide whatever you want but if is not within their ability it's unreasonable. The question also is what kind of in class support will this child have. What can make sitting and focusing easier on the child. Is there a way to make the lesson more meaningful and interactive for the child so they are actively engaged and focused more which will carryover into sitting more easily. Do they need to "sit" or can they attend while moving about?
As a parent of a 6 year old with down syndrome, I am not going to get into the debate of mainstreaming or not. It is individualized per child and each setting. However if the lesson is not meaningful to thw child and going over their head and they cannot be engaged in it to learn something in some way then it begs the question of why they are sitting through this lesson and could the time be used more productively for them in another way?
And quite frankly, expecting anyone to sit through something they don't understand is unfair and unreasonable. Would you want to sit through something in Chinese and be expected to be still and focused? This is no different.
Bottom line is I think that there needs to be some way to target the child in the lesson in some way and then you can ask your question. (And some children sit and focus easily and others don't)

amother

↑ OP

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 5:47 pm

amother Dill wrote:

thank you. I am her/his therapist. I don't believe he/she should be forced to sit. I rather work on her/his iep goals that are more appropriate for this child. I don' think it's fair to the child to be expected to sit through an extremely long circle time that has no meaning. When there is a lesson that could be geared towards the child, I'm all for it. What I am not all for , is making this child miserable.

amother

↑ Jean

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 5:49 pm

amother OP wrote:

As the therapist you can absolutely force the teacher to follow your plan.

amother

↑ Dill

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 6:04 pm

As the therapist, you are the only one present in the classroom who can advocate for the child! You also can help guide the teacher to what is appropriate and how to target the child in the lesson. If you are there all day I'd say go through the day with the teacher and work out which parts of the day are reasonable for inclusion and which the child is better using with 1:1 support on the side to target other skills
And please, communicate fully with the parents on what is happening, how it is playing out and what their goals are for the year. As a parent, there is no way for me to know what my child is like in the classroom if staff does not share

Frumomsi

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 6:11 pm

As mentioned above, each child is an individual. Unfortunately, some children are not in an ideal placement. If it’s from lack of options, working to educated the teacher and parent is the goal. If the child is in this setting because a parent is insistent on mainstreaming and the school agreed begrudgingly, it will be an uphill battle.

#BestBubby

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 6:13 pm

SEIT here,

Start with child joining circle time for a few minutes
And gradually increasing the length.

Some Typical children also "space out" during circle time. But learning to sit quietly even if bored is important for your client to learn.

Sit right outside the circle so you dont disrupt when you leave the room.

Singing and doing motions should be doable..

But if teacher is teaching a lesson without a lot of visual aids, it would probably not hold your students attention.

I think it is great for child with DS to be in mainstream room to learn proper behavior.

Point out how the children all sat quietly in their chairs.

amother

Zinnia

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 6:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

What kind of therapist? How are you sure that the circle team is completely meaningless for the child?

If what you are saying is true than they might be in the wrong class, but the year did just start days ago.