Down syndrome is a genetic condition, in which a person is born with an extra chromosome. In general, people are born with 46 chromosomes however, those with down syndrome will have an extra chromosome, making their total 47.
The effect of this extra chromosome is on both the brain and the body. People with down syndrome have a range of disabilities, all of which depend on the person themselves. Additionally, scientific research has discovered that people with down syndrome are also more liable to a range of medical and mental health conditions that can affect the individual.
Down syndrome is usually diagnosed before a baby is actually born. Doctors use modern technology to determine whether or not your baby has down syndrome during screenings. If they believe your baby may have down syndrome, they will use a range of blood tests and ultrasound imaging to find out the exact details.
Once your child is born, doctors will perform a physical exam to observe any signs for down syndrome. They will double check their observations through another blood test, which will analyse whether or not another chromosome is present.
Symptoms of down syndrome differ from person to person. In general, it is possible to observe physical, cognitive and behavioural symptoms shown by the person.
Some of the physical signs are:
Some of the common cognitive and behavioural signs are:
Children with down syndrome can experience feeding, swallowing and speech difficulties. They also may experience oral motor problems which contribute to speech and feeding difficulties.
SpeechAim acknowledges the potential that those with down syndrome have to be great communicators. We are here to offer the proper support and training to get them there.
While there are no cures for down syndrome, there are a number of ways in which symptoms can be managed. At SpeechAim, we believe that down syndrome shouldn't hold your child back. We provide you with a range of therapy sessions, all tailored to your child's needs.
Therapy sessions will begin very early to ensure they have the greatest effect. Our therapy sessions will consider your child's strengths and weaknesses, so that we can effectively use them to have the greatest impact on your child.
We will make sure to monitor your child's growth as well as their development physically, emotionally and cognitively. Our therapy sessions will include:
We will help your child work on pre-verbal skills which includes, but not limited to, eye-contact, attention span, and taking turns with others. Therapy can include exercises to strengthen muscle, exercises to improve speech production etc.
We are confident in our expertise of down syndrome speech difficulties. At SpeechAim, all of our therapy sessions will be specifically tailored to help you and your child as much as possible. Our sessions will be designed around them, managing and developing their cognitive and physical abilities.