NOTE: October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month
Rebecca Newlon
By Chris and Rebecca Newlon
When Rebecca, my daughter who has Down syndrome, began kindergarten, I never dreamed that the day-to-day hammering out of details with her general education teacher would lay the foundation we would continue to utilize to this day now that Rebecca is a junior in high school.
Back then, we met the teacher before the school year began for introductions and to set some guidelines for the first few days. We needed daily communication from the teacher in order to address any behavior or social or academic issues immediately in order to prevent bad habits from developing. We also included meetings with the teacher every four to six weeks to review progress and make adjustments as needed. It was a constant reevaluation of what worked, what didn’t and what corrections were needed, if any.
The teacher taught Rebecca’s peers to assist her without patronizing, how to include her in activities and how to recognize when to step in or hold back in order to encourage her self-advocacy.
Initially in kindergarten, Rebecca’s fine motor skills were still developing. Instead of requiring printed words during spelling tests, Rebecca used letter blocks [...]