Education Support

Pack for Schools

Special Schools
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements and thanks to the following:

Falmouth Community School, Lower School, Cornwall

Trish Davidson, CENMAC, London

Carol Tudor, ICT Advisory teacher, Devon

Landkey C.P.S., Devon

Bishopswood Special School, Sonning Common, Oxfordshire.

Jenny Wager, Head teacher and Sarah Mitson Outreach worker.

Hedgewood Special School, Hayes, Middlesex.

Anne Hutchinson, and Yifat Skehan

Kingfisher Special School. Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

King Edward V1 Community College, Totnes, Devon.

Sarah Kehaya, Inclusion Facilitator, KEVICCS, Devon Inclusion Project, Totnes, Devon.

Mill Ford Special School, Plymouth.

John McGee and Andrea Hemmings

Sunfield School, Clent, Worcestershire

Prof. Barry Carpenter, Chief Executive and Principal, Lesley Ross,

Nick Logan and Melanie Smart.

Anne Sydney CENMAC

Judith Stansfield, SEN ICT Advisory Teacher, Devon.

Ridgeway Special School, Warwick.

Written by:
Members of the UK Downs Syndrome Education Consortium.

Sandy Alton: Advisory Teacher Downs syndrome & Complex Medical Needs,
Oxfordshire LEA and Teacher Advisor, Downs Syndrome Association.

Jane Beadman: Independent Educational Psychologist, on behalf of Devon

Education Authority.

Bob Black: Education Information Officer, Downs Syndrome Association.

Stephanie Lorenz: Independent Educational Psychologist & SEN Consultant,

Downright Educational Services.
Acknowledgements

Cecilie McKinnon: Curriculum Development Officer, Downs Syndrome Scotland.

Edited by Eric Nicholas and Stephanie Lorenz

Education Support Pack for Special Schools

CONTENTS

Unit 1: Introduction ................................................................................................

a) Downs syndrome today. ...........................................................................................
b) Some basic facts.......................................................................................................
c) Attitudes to disability .................................................................................................
d) Downs syndrome and Autistic Spectrum Disorders .................................................

Unit 2: Special School Partnerships

a) The developing role of the special school .................................................................
b) Bishopswood Special School and outreach service..................................................
c) Devon Inclusion Project .............................................................................................
d) From Special to specialist: a case study ...................................................................
e) Haybridge High School Sunfield.............................................................................

Unit 3: Planning for Teaching and Learning

a) The Learning Profile of children with Downs syndrome ...........................................
b) Classroom planning and IEPs ...................................................................................
c) Using support staff effectively....................................................................................
d) Differentiating learning experiences ..........................................................................

Unit 4: Developing gross motor skills in children with Downs syndrome

a) Introduction ................................................................................................................
b) Motor development ....................................................................................................
c) Six areas of motor development................................................................................

Unit 5: Developing language skills

a) Language development in Downs syndrome ...........................................................
b) Strategies to promote language ................................................................................
c) Using sign to facilitate language development ..........................................................
d) Teaching reading to teach talking..............................................................................

Unit 6; Developing literacy skills

a) Learning to read ........................................................................................................
b) Teaching handwriting .................................................................................................
c) Developing writing skills.............................................................................................
d) Strategies for spelling ................................................................................................

Unit 7: Acquiring numeracy skills

a) Mathematical learning ...............................................................................................
b) The language of maths..............................................................................................
c) Difficulities associated with learning maths ...............................................................
d) Acquiring basic skills..................................................................................................

Unit 8: Behaviour and social skills

a) Causes of inappropriate behaviour ...........................................................................
b) Strategies for dealing with behavioural challenges ...................................................
c) Promoting social inclusion .........................................................................................
d) Case studies ..............................................................................................................

Unit 9: Transition and Alternative Accreditation

a) Starting school ...........................................................................................................
b) Moving within school .................................................................................................
c) Change of school.......................................................................................................
d) Moving from school into the wider world ...................................................................
e) Alternative Accreditation at Key Stage 4...................................................................
f) Entry Levels ..............................................................................................................
g) Conclusion.................................................................................................................

Unit 10: ICT, computers as an aid to learning

Contents

a) The importance of ICT...............................................................................................

b) Networking and finding resources .............................................................................
c) Organising resources.................................................................................................
d) Literacy and recording ...............................................................................................
e) Language and communication ..................................................................................
f) Useful addresses of software suppliers......................................................................
g) Useful websites for further information......................................................................

Appendix 1: Examples of individual action plans

Appendix 2: Examples of curriculum mapping
Appendix 3: Programme for developing gross motor skills in children with Downs syndrome
Unit 1: Introduction

a) Downs syndrome today

Each year, more children with Downs syndrome than ever before are
entering community playgroups and nurseries, attending their local
mainstream school and joining in social activities with typically developing
siblings and friends.

Each year more young adults with Downs syndrome are living in the
community, gaining qualifications and experiences and succeeding in a wide
variety of ordinary jobs.

Given the chance to develop their self-help skills and independence, people
with Downs syndrome can respond positively to many of todays challenges
in mainstream schools, colleges of further education, employment and
independent living.

While many will need some support to benefit from the opportunities on
offer, the amount of help they need will vary greatly from one individual to
another.

The important fact is that increasingly children and adults with Downs
syndrome are being recognised as people in their own right, able to
participate in meaningful ways to the life of their communities.

This is a very different state of affairs from that which existed in the UK prior
to 1970, when children with Downs syndrome were considered ineducable
and were often placed in institutions where they lived out their relatively
short lives.

Expectations of these children were low and they received little in the way
of support, stimulation or social experiences. As a consequence, they often
failed to develop into confident individuals with the skills necessary to
promote their inclusion in the wider community. Instead they stayed in their
institutions separated from family and friends.

Over the last thirty years, research has increased our knowledge about the
capabilities of people with Downs syndrome. At the same time, significant
advances in health care, early intervention and family support have vastly
improved the quality of life for young people with Downs syndrome and
their families, with most parents opting to bring up their disabled child
alongside typically developing siblings.

Major changes in education law have given children with Downs syndrome
the right to full time education. In the early days, most were placed in
special schools. However, in recent years, a steadily increasing number are
being educated in the mainstream. As a result, expectations of individuals
with Downs syndrome have increased, alongside greater acceptance by
Unit 1

society at large.

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 Unit 1:
Nevertheless, for a relatively small percentage of children and young people
with Downs syndrome, placement in a special school or unit is still
considered to be in their best interests.

It could be that they have profound and multiple disabilities that would make
it very difficult to include them meaningfully in a mainstream setting.

It could be that they present with particularly challenging behaviours.

They may have significant medical needs or require a high level of therapy
not available in the mainstream.

They may have already failed in a mainstream school where they were
subject to negative attitudes and low levels of support.

The recent report of the Special Schools Working Group states that in their
view "special schools should have an important continuing role in supporting
children and young people with the most severe and complex SEN, and
work in partnership with mainstream schools to assist them to deliver the
wider inclusion agenda".

The Working Group "considers that the teaching of skills and subject matter
needs to be fully informed by a detailed understanding of the pupils learning
difficulties". In the context of this pack, therefore, it is important for all
special school staff to be aware of the particular needs of pupils with Downs
syndrome, as distinct from those of other pupils with learning difficulties.

b) Some basic facts

Downs syndrome is the most common form of learning disability.

Two babies with Downs syndrome are born every day in the UK - about one
baby in approximately 1,000 live births.

Downs syndrome is a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra

chromosome 21. A baby born with Downs syndrome thus has 3 copies of
chromosome 21 instead of the usual two.

In most children, every cell in the body has the extra chromosome (Trisomy
21). In 1 2% of babies, only some cells will contain the extra chromosome
(Mosaic Trisomy 21). However in either case, the effects of the extra genetic
material are likely to be very much the same.

While children with Downs syndrome share certain physical characteristics,

these will vary from child to child. Most importantly, each child will inherit its
own family looks and characteristics.
Unit 1

Although Downs syndrome is caused by genetic factors, environmental

influences and upbringing play a critical role in their development, as with
any child.

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Unit 1:
Children with Downs syndrome will vary as widely in their development and
progress as typically developing children and each will have their own
individual talents and aptitudes.

Children with Downs syndrome will all have learning difficulties, but these
can vary from mild to very severe. At the age of five, the most able children
are often functioning near the average level for their age. At the other end of
the ability range, there are children with profound and multiple disabilities,
often linked with conditions such as autism or epilepsy.

Generally speaking, children with Downs syndrome develop more slowly

than their peers, arriving at each stage of development at a later age and
staying there for longer. Consequently, the developmental gap between
children with Downs syndrome and their peers will widen with age.

As with many children, progress for those with Downs syndrome is a

continual but unsteady process continuing into adulthood where the learning
of new skills still goes on. The progress of people with Downs syndrome
does not decline with age, nor, as previously thought, do they plateau in
their development.

People with Downs syndrome are living longer than ever before.
The average life span, which has been increasing steadily over time, is now
60 years.

c) Attitudes to disability ATTITUDES TO DISABILITY

The Special Educational
Needs and Disability Act
(2001), which came into PITY PATRONAGE
force in September 2002, leading to: leading to:
makes it unlawful for overprotection knowing best,
or failing to listen
educational providers to
special or speaking for
discriminate against treatment the child.
disabled children by:
The
Treating them less child
favourably than a non-
disabled child on the
grounds of their disability DISCRIMINATION VICTIMISATION
without justification. leading to: leading to:
denial of access to bullying or being
opportunities, subjected to painful
Failing to take reasonable
activities & events. or undignified
steps to ensure that they are treatment .
not placed at a substantial
disadvantage compared with Fig. 1
other pupils who are not disabled.
Unit 1

Failing to plan strategically for and make progress in improving the physical
environment, increasing pupils participation in the curriculum and improving
ways in which written information provided to other pupils is also provided to
disabled pupils.

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 Unit 1:
Staff working with children with Downs syndrome need to be aware of and
guard themselves against commonly held attitudes to disability.

Dont feel sorry for children with a learning disability and as a consequence
give them special treatment. Children do not "suffer" from Downs syndrome
and special treatment will only serve to isolate them from their peers.

Always listen to the child, even if their primary form of communication is

signing, gesture, body language or inappropriate behaviour. Dont think you
always know what is best. Children who kick their teaching assistant are
almost certainly unhappy about what she is trying to make them do.

Take care not to discriminate against the disabled child and deny them the
same opportunities as other children. Where there are difficulties in allowing
a child to participate safely in an event or activity, share your worries with
the parents and your colleagues so that a solution can be found.

Watch out for bullying or victimisation by staff or other students. Never

tolerate name-calling or teasing, as it is just as unpleasant or hurtful as
racist or sexist language. Where the child clearly dislikes treatment or
intervention being offered by an outside agency, discuss whether the
programme is really necessary or if the same objectives could be achieved
in a different way.

d) Downs syndrome and Autistic Spectrum

Disorders
It used to be the case that all individuals with Downs syndrome who
displayed autistic features were thought to be exhibiting these as a
consequence of their severe learning disabilities. However, it is now
recognised that autistic spectrum disorders can coexist with Downs
syndrome.

Some people, such as Lorna Wing, believe that as many as 10% of children
with Downs syndrome also have autistic spectrum disorder. Others, such as
Sue Buckley, believe that autistic spectrum disorders tend to be over
diagnosed and occur in only 3 5% of the Downs syndrome population.

Nevertheless, there are often problems in diagnosing autism even when the
parents know that there is something "more than just Downs syndrome".
Although parents may actively seek help from health professionals there
may still be a failure to recognise the dual diagnosis except in the most
severe of cases.

Professionals may hold the stereotypical view that children with Downs
syndrome are always sociable so cannot be autistic.
Unit 1

Those working with autistic children may lack awareness of the

characteristic developmental profile of children with Downs syndrome.

Developmental delay is expected in children with Downs syndrome.

Therefore symptoms of autism may be overlooked.

4
Unit 1:
Professionals may feel that an additional label is not necessary.

Parents or carers may be told, "this is part of low functioning Downs

syndrome".

All children with an autistic spectrum disorder have significantly more

difficulty than others of their age and ability in all three areas of the "Triad of
Impairment":

Social understanding and the ability to interact with peers.

Social communication, both verbal and non-verbal.

Thinking and behaving flexibly according to the situation.

Children with a dual diagnosis may display a range of behaviours not

typically found in children with Downs syndrome alone:

They may be overly sensitive to sound, light, touch or pain or fail to

respond at all, despite normal sensory functioning.

They may have pronounced food fads and resist the introduction of
anything new into their diet.

They may lack imaginative play, preferring to spin wheels on a car or

flick books in front of their eyes.

They may react very badly to changes in people or routines.

They may become very angry or distressed if their routines are

interrupted or their personal space invaded.

It is important to realise that approaches appropriate for typical children with

Downs syndrome can not only be futile with a child with a dual diagnosis,
but may be detrimental to their developmental progress. In children with a
dual diagnosis, it is the autism which must be considered as the primary
disability. It is this which gets in the way of the child learning and reacting in
the way you would expect of a child with Downs syndrome.

Case History (Melanie Smart, Sunfield School)

Laura is a twelve-year-old girl with a diagnosis of Downs syndrome and autism.

She was diagnosed with Downs syndrome at birth, and two years later with
conductive hearing loss. It wasnt until she was nine that she received a
diagnosis of autism.

Currently Laura attends a residential special school for children with severe and
complex learning needs and challenging behaviour.
Unit 1

Laura is an engaging and happy person. Her greatest joy in the world is to
make others laugh, and she loves a big reaction! She is very sociable despite
her autism and she will often seek interaction for cuddles or rough and tumble
play. However, her seeking behaviour is mostly directed towards adults, and is
on her own terms.
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 Unit 1:
When Laura is ill or tired she can be very stubborn and determined to avoid
requests. When there is a lack of familiarity and routine, Laura can become
distressed and this may lead to episodes of challenging behaviour such as
slapping, kicking and pushing. She also shows some rigid routine behaviour.
Laura also demonstrates self-stimulatory behaviours such as chin tapping,
finger twirling and eyelash looking. She is fascinated by shadows and reflective
surfaces.

Her main means of communication is through

PECS (Bondy and Frost, 1994) using photographs
with a small symbol attached (Fig. 2). Laura also
uses some symbols alone, for immediate needs
such as drink and toilet. She understands the
concept of exchange (giving a photograph for a
desired object) and choice. In Speech and
Language Therapy sessions Laura is showing
spontaneous commenting. She is assessed at the
two-year level for expression and communication. Fig. 2

In school, Laura works to the TEACCH programme and the routine and
structure of this approach has provided the security Laura needs to access all
areas of the curriculum (Fig. 3).

Fig. 4

Laura has maximum three sided

structure in the classroom, both in her
independent workstation and on her one-
to-one table (Fig. 4). This eliminates any
distraction from others in the class and
Fig. 3
allows her to concentrate on her school
work. Laura works in units of three tasks and is comfortable with this system.

Her schedule (what is happening now and next) is

set out in a top to bottom format and she follows this
well without the need for support (Fig. 5). Her colour
is pink and she associates this colour with her work.
Laura is given a visual cue (a pink circle) and verbal
prompt to "check her schedule", when she will walk
over to her schedule and take the photograph from
Unit 1

the top. This tells her what she is doing next and she
can then independently make her way to where she
needs to be. Laura is very rigid in her routines and
has a strong need to complete an activity she has
begun.
Fig. 5
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Unit 1:
Useful Reading & References

Baron-Cohen S. and Bolton P. (1993) Autism The Facts.

Bondy A. and Frost L. (1994) The Picture-Exchange Communication System.

Focus on Autistic Behavior. 9, 1-13.

Buckley S. (2001) Living with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Issues &
Information. DownsEd.

Buckley S., Bird G. and Sacks B. (2002) Social development for individuals with
Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Issues & Information. DownsEd.

Capone G. (2001) Downs syndrome and Autistic Spectrum Disorder: a look at

what we know. Downs syndrome Association, Journal 97, Summer 2001, 6-13.

DfES (2002) Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Good Practice Guidance. DfES

Publications.

Frith U. (1993) Autism and Asperger Syndrome.

Houlin P., Wing L. and Gould J. (1995) The Recognition of Autism in children
with Downs syndrome. Implications for intervention and some speculations
about pathology. Developmental medicine and child neurology, 37, 5,406-414.

Jordan R. (2001) Autism with Severe Learning Difficulties. Souvenir Press.

Leshin L. (2002) Down Syndrome, Visions for the 21st Century. Wiley-Liss.

Lorenz S. (1998) Children with Downs syndrome. David Fulton Publishers.

Selikovitz M. (1997) Down Syndrome: The Facts. Oxford University Press.

Special Schools Working Group Report (2003) DfES.

Wing L. (1996) The Autistic Spectrum. A Guide for Parents and Professionals.
Constable.

Websites

http://www.teacch.com
http://www.pecs.org.uk
http://www.altonweb.com dual diagnosis articles
http://www.disabilitysolutions.org online magazine for DS and dual diagnosis
http://groups.yahoo.com/community/ds-autism. Discussion board
http://www.nas.org.uk national autistic society will send leaflets and
information on request
Unit 1

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.

7
Unit 2: Special School Partnerships

a) The developing role of the special school

In their recent report, the Special Schools Working Group sets out "a
vision for the future of special schools within the overarching framework
of inclusion". They see special schools as:

demonstrating expertise in working with pupils with complex learning

difficulties,
ensuring effective partnership working between special and
mainstream schools,
innovating in curricular development and providing resource bases
for teaching methods, resources and ideas,
facilitating the inclusion of pupils with significant difficulties into the
mainstream via outreach and in-service training.

As the report states, "we want to see special schools taking a leading
role in helping mainstream schools develop more inclusive learning
environments. We would like to see more use made of the expertise of
special schools in developing innovative methods of curriculum delivery
to meet the needs of pupils with a wide range of needs".

To do this the working group members envisaged an education system

in which LEAs take steps to encourage staff and pupil movement
between special and mainstream schools. Ideally all special school
pupils should have regular opportunities to mix with typically developing
peers from their locality. Without this they will be denied valuable role
models and the possibility of being accepted as valued members of their
local community:

This is reinforced in Removing Barriers to Achievement, the

Governments new long term strategy for SEN (DfES/0117/2004).

The report also supports the use of dual placements, whereby children
split their time between special and mainstream schools. For some
children with Downs syndrome, such arrangements have been highly
successful, often leading to full time inclusion. For others, however, they
have been problematic as children fail to cope with two different sets of
expectations and never truly belong in either setting. If such placements
are to be effective it is important that:

children attend a local mainstream school rather than one near the
special school,
special and mainstream staff meet regularly to plan cooperatively
Unit 2

and write joint IEPs,

a joint behaviour management strategy is drawn up,
staff visit each others settings to enable them to anticipate any
problems the child might have in moving between them.

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 Unit 2:
Outreach and in-service training are also highlighted in the report. While
many special schools undoubtedly have considerable expertise in
curriculum differentiation and behaviour management, they may not be
familiar with current mainstream issues or with good inclusive practice.
Staff planning to take on an outreach role, therefore, will need to receive
appropriate training themselves and to spend time teaching in
mainstream classrooms before advising others.

Without this training, experience shows that there is a danger that

outreach staff may undermine good inclusive practice by promoting
approaches which rely heavily on structured individual teaching and
withdrawal rather than participation in classroom activities. Outreach
teachers who come into school with a file of pre-prepared worksheets
unrelated to the class curriculum may only serve to undermine their
mainstream colleagues rather than support them in making the childs
inclusive experience more effective. It also serves to highlight the child
as being different rather than part of the class.

Outreach staff need to believe that full inclusion is the way forward for
the majority of young people with Downs syndrome and that it is both
possible and appropriate to differentiate the mainstream curriculum to
meet their needs, however limited their attainment. Sadly this is not
always the case as the example below illustrates.

Sally is a young girl with Downs syndrome who her parents feel has
done really well in her local mainstream school. She is currently in Year
2 and is supported by an outreach teacher from the local MLD school. In
her recent report this teacher states that:

Sallys general level of development indicates that she needs to

continue with the foundation stage curriculum where she will have
the opportunity to develop her basic skills, learn to function
independently and interact with an appropriate peer group. It is
important to consider at this stage the possibility of a dual placement
for next year. The pace and expectations of a Key Stage 2
curriculum, together with the level of understanding needed, mean
that the majority of the curriculum will be inappropriate for Sally even
with 1:1 support at all times.

As a result, the school is now recommending that Sally should attend

the special school next year. Instead of being supported in their practice
and helped to better differentiate the curriculum, their confidence has
been undermined.
Unit 2

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Unit 2:
b) Bishopswood Special School and Outreach Service,
Sonning Common, Oxfordshire.
By Jenny Wager, Head teacher

Bishopswood Special School, in South Oxfordshire, is a dynamically

evolving special school which has developed over some 20 years to be
currently co-located on the sites of three other mainstream schools: our
nursery is fully integrated with the nursery class at Valley Road Primary
School, Henley; there are new school buildings on the site of Sonning
Common Primary School and a set of classrooms and facilities within
Chiltern Edge Secondary School.

It provides education for children with severe, complex and profound

learning difficulties, and offers pupils a wide range of inclusion
opportunities on each of the sites. It was judged by the recent Ofsted
inspection as very effective in doing so with about 50% transfer from the
nursery to mainstream schools at the age of 5.

The Bishopswood Outreach service is based at the school. The service

was set up to support the increasing numbers of children, especially with
Downs syndrome, who are on the roll of mainstream schools in the area.
There is a full time team leader and two part time teachers. Sarah meets
with the team fortnightly and all three have full timetables. The team is
funded centrally but the school provides a base for resources and
meetings, travelling expenses and a management allowance for the team
leader.

The Outreach team has two way links with Bishopswood staff at a variety
of levels: they are included in INSET and staff meetings if appropriate;
they are involved in dialogue related to pupils. Performance management
is also delivered through the school.

The Outreach Service is very much valued by the local schools, who are
able to use the team in a variety of ways:

to assess, support and monitor pupils,

to advise teachers and teaching assistants,
to develop strategies and resources,
to work with parents,
to provide INSET,
to share specialist knowledge.

The service has an important role to play in helping local mainstream

schools to develop their inclusive practice by providing specialist input.

The team works with children at Code of Practice Stage School Action
Unit 2

Plus or with statements. Children can be considered for support if they:

have statements which specify involvement of The Bishopswood

Outreach Service,

3
 Unit 2:
are moving from Bishopswood School to mainstream school,
including transition from Bishopswood Nursery,
are referred to the service by an Educational Psychologist,
have additional needs which cannot be met by the schools own SEN
provision.

The Outreach Team can give advice and monitor progress, give weekly
support to children, contribute to annual reviews and plan programmes of
work for individual children, in collaboration with school staff.

There are mutual benefits in the links between the Outreach team and
the special school. The Outreach team gain expertise and knowledge
about working with and supporting children with SEN in mainstream
which is valuable to the special school staff in developing further
inclusion links and projects with our co-located partner schools, and they
have opportunities to work in the special school to refresh or develop
their SEN knowledge base. Bishopswood School is keen to expand its
role not only with its partner schools but also within the wider local
partnership of schools.

A co-located special school like Bishopswood has a lot to offer children

with SEN and pupils have a timetable for inclusion not for withdrawal.
Apart from specialist teaching, knowledge and resources, it provides an
environment which is carefully designed to meet their physical, social
and emotional needs. However, equally importantly, it gives them the
opportunity to live and learn alongside their mainstream peers at the
most appropriate level for each individual and flexibility for inclusion
along a wide continuum.

Management and class teachers can work closely in a co-located school,

to plan individual and group work and to develop formal and informal
links in an inclusive environment. As with any other school development
issue, support and enthusiasm is essential in developing projects and all
groups need to be informed and involved, including governors and
parents.

The links between partnership schools are likely to focus on meeting the
needs of individual pupils, either those in the mainstream school or
children from the special school who might benefit from inclusion links
with their local community, and developing training opportunities for both
teachers and support staff. Special schools need to be able to identify
pupils who could be given early specialist help so that a supported,
phased transfer to or shared placement with a mainstream school can be
Unit 2

planned successfully. However, teachers in special schools need to build

and develop their practice within their own environment to ensure that
they can offer excellent support and advice.

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Unit 2:
Outreach - Annies Story (Sarah Mitson, Outreach Co-ordinator)

As the coordinator of the Outreach team, I have been working for the
past two years with a child who has Downs syndrome. Prior to this, my
predecessor worked with her for four years. I will call the pupil Annie.

Annie was born in 1988 and started at her local mainstream primary
school when she was five years old. It was decided that she would be
kept back a year to help her gain confidence and so that she had that
little bit longer to adjust to school life.

Annie settled well at school and there were only a few incidents during
her primary years. These were to be expected and the small school
setting as well as the good relationship between staff and Annies parents
meant that incidents were dealt with promptly and positively. By the time
Annie was in Year 6, the following comments were written by the
Outreach worker for her Annual review.

" Annie has made very good progress this year in her language
development, literacy and numeracy skills. We have all been pleased
with how mature and independent Annie has become. She is able to say
what she needs for a lesson when asked and is completing work with
adult support. Annie is well motivated and happy in school which has
obviously contributed to this progress. Annies ability to make
conversation has greatly increased. She will often ask questions to gain
more information and she is making an effort to speak clearly. She will
often initiate a conversation about an event that has happened to her and
she will give an opinion about what she likes or does not like doing."

As year 7 approached and transition to secondary school loomed anxiety

levels rose! One of the roles of the Outreach teacher is to aid the
transition process by taking pupils on regular visits to their new school
and liaising with staff at the secondary school. Most mainstream pupils
will visit their next school once in the Summer Term prior to starting full
time in the September. For Annie this would not have been enough. For
the Summer Term in Year 6 Annie was taken to her secondary school
every fortnight.

Trips to the secondary school meant that Annie began to know her way
around and could locate toilets easily. She began to understand where
her tutor group was based and where it was in relation to other rooms.
She stayed for lunch a few times so that she could experience the
lunchtime rituals of queuing up at the canteen, choosing a lunch or a
snack, paying at the till etc. Her visits also meant that the school were
Unit 2

better prepared for September. For instance, the canteen staff were
made aware that Annie had difficulty counting money and were asked to
support her in this. The caretaker was introduced to Annie and made
aware that when she is feeling anxious she might run away or hide. This

5
 Unit 2:
meant that he would feel better equipped to cope should he find Annie
somewhere out of bounds during the school day. The bus drivers were
introduced to Annie and again briefed on what she can and cannot cope
with and also informed of her tendency to be silly and excitable when on
a bus and how they should deal with this. This programme of visits
undertaken by the Outreach team was felt by staff and parents and
indeed Annie herself to have alleviated some of the anxieties felt by the
transition to secondary school.

Annie had a good first term at her Secondary School and made pleasing
progress. However, as time passed, it became apparent that Annie was
beginning to find her feet and was becoming rude and badly behaved at
times. There were problems in food technology when Annie refused to
wash up. She began to wander around school pretending she was lost
and playing games with staff who did not know her very well. Annie had
started taking pens and pencils that did not belong to her. Annie was not
taking care with her hygiene particularly when she was menstruating.
The Senco called on the Outreach team for some extra support which we
were happy to provide. It seemed that there were a mixture of problems
that were hindering Annies progress:

Some members of staff had never met, let alone taught, a pupil with
Downs syndrome and, as a result, were being far too easy on Annie
and giving her no real boundaries.
Rather than having one TA which she was used to at Primary School,
Annie now had 5 different TAs who she sometimes played off against
one another.
Annie was becoming extremely tired by the middle of a half term and
her behaviour deteriorated at this time with Annie often becoming
tearful and rude.
Annies form tutor felt there was a lack of communication amongst
staff and parents.

As Annies Outreach teacher, I was able to provide some help in solving

these issues. First of all I spoke to Annies mother. We had an informal
chat which led to her requesting a meeting with me. We met the following
day and she was particularly pleased to have a forum to discuss issues
without feeling she was insulting the Secondary School. I suggested that
Annie have a shorter week once a month as she becomes so tired and
emotional, often around the time of her period. Mum agreed to keep her
at home on a Friday and a Monday to ensure 2 shorter weeks. Often
parents feel that an Outreach worker understands the needs of their child
and is a neutral person with whom to discuss anxieties. I made a list of
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concerns that were bothering Annies parents. I then set up a meeting

with all of Annies TAs, the Senco, the form tutor and the Year head. We
discussed many things and set up a "programme" to assist Annie. This
comprised of a home/school liaison book that any member of staff could
write in to make positive as well as negative comments. This would

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mean that all staff and parents could easily see at a glance how Annies
day had gone.

I explained to staff that Annies parents were extremely concerned about

Annies behaviour and that they wanted her to be treated like any other
pupil. In fact they were astonished that Annie had never had a detention!
This came as a surprise to staff who felt Annie should be treated
differently and be excused for inappropriate behaviour at times. I
suggested I ran a twilight session for staff about dealing with pupils with
Downs syndrome and this was received enthusiastically. (38 members of
staff attended the course I held a fortnight later.)

An information sheet was handed out to all staff explaining how Annie
must be dealt with if she behaves inappropriately. This was to ensure
continuity for Annie as well as helping staff:

Annie is to be treated like other pupils. Please send her to Senior

Staff if she does not comply with you. If she refuses to comply send
for Senior Staff in the usual way.
Use your voice! Annie will respond to a firm tone with no "flowery"
language.
If you see Annie in the corridor please challenge her and send her to
lessons. If she ignores you or is rude, immediately tell her form tutor
who will make a note in the home-school book.
Use the home-school book to keep everyone including Annie
informed of positive and negative incidents.
Be generous when giving homework. Differentiated homework is a
must.
If anybody wants extra advice on strategies and ideas Annies
Outreach teacher is here every Thursday lunchtime. Use her!
Annie needs suitable, structured, visual resources so that she can be
successful. The Learning Support Department can help you. We are
also able to borrow helpful resources from Bishopswood Special
School via Outreach.

The school also set up a buddy system so that an older pupil could seek
Annie out at times to ensure she was having no problems. The older,
responsible pupil also collected Annie from her last lesson and walked
her to the bus each afternoon.

By the time Annie had been in Year 8 for half a term things had
dramatically improved. Staff felt more informed and it was agreed that all
NQTs should meet with me at the start of each academic year for some
advice on teaching and including pupils with Downs syndrome
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appropriately. Annie was remembering her PE kit each week, her home-
school book was working well and her rudeness had curbed dramatically.

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c) Devon Inclusion Project
By Sarah Kehayah, Inclusion Facilitator, KEVICCS, for Devon
Inclusion Project, Totnes.

Over the last 4 years, students from Bidwell Brook Special School,
Dartington, have been experiencing inclusion in a mainstream school
through link placements. Each year, 5 or 6 of the secondary aged
students with severe learning difficulties take part in mainstream lessons
at King Edward VI Community College, (KEVICCS), Totnes an 1800
student College about one and a half miles away. Students are included
from maybe one hour once a week up to two days.

The subject range accessed by pupils with Downs syndrome has been
wide PE/dance, drama, art, music, technology textiles, food, resistant
materials, electronics. We have tended not to include in the high literacy
subjects. This in part is due to maintaining curriculum balance. One
student with Downs syndrome who is in mainstream full time, however,
is thriving and making definite progress in many different ways. The
challenge always is to ensure social inclusion, curriculum balance and
access to the curriculum.

Social inclusion is supported in the College by a Circle of Friends group.

It is also supported in lessons by peer supported learning and peer
modelling. On occasions it is the included student with Downs
syndrome who is able to model for the rest of the group what
action/activity needs to take place.

Curriculum balance for link placements is tricky given the rigidity and
complexity of mainstream timetabling, but with great care and attention
to student strengths it is possible to work within tolerable limits. The
benefits for personal development, through independence in a large
community setting, and the social contact in mainstream is seen as
significant.

Accessing the curriculum is made possible by differentiation through

modification of materials and tasks. Differentiation by outcome is to be
avoided at all costs though sometimes it is difficult not to. In many
subject areas we have created a range of re-usable resources with a
strong emphasis on visual and kinaesthetic learning. In practice, about a
third of mainstream students have also benefited from such materials
being available.

Inclusion remains a contentious issue with feelings running high in both

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camps. When it works well and is handled constructively and

consistently it enriches everyone. Making it work well is hard graft. It
involves co-operation and flexibility as well as dealing with problems
rather than hoping they will go away. It also involves everyone in the
college and special school community. It is not the sole responsibility of

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any one person but an attitude of mind in all strata of the teaching and
learning community.

Case Study
One link placement involved a year 7 student who was included into
music and drama once a week in a receiving group of about 22 year 7
students.

The group were briefed about the student before the inclusion began and
they were encouraged to be welcoming and friendly as a first step. After
a few weeks of ease, the difficulties began to emerge as both parties
thawed out and dropped their best behaviour!! The included student
became overly familiar and a bit touchy feely which for adolescents is a
big deal. A hug from your mate is one thing but from someone you dont
really know and are unsure of is not. Holding hands is for very particular
people in your life! and body contact generally is a source of anxiety (if
not welcome!). The mainstream students became embarrassed and
frustrated at not knowing what to do.

We sanctioned the class to use a hand signal to the adults in the room if
at any time they felt they were unable to sort out a difficulty by
themselves. We also briefed them that if the included student behaved
in a way they found awkward, to react constructively rather than in an
aggressive way "I dont like it when you do that"; "Try and do this"; "Let
me show you what to do". Stickers were used (for all the students in the
group) as a positive reinforcement of appropriate interaction.

When the included student became excited (or unsure of what he was
meant to be doing) his behaviour often became boisterous. We used
yellow and red cards as visual cues (accompanied by verbal instruction)
that a bit more calm was required! This had two knock on effects: the
mainstream students asked if the yellow and red card system could be
used to help them!! and it also alerted us that we needed to take action if
there was lack of clarity about what to do.

To be able to join in the lesson required the included student to work in a

variety of ways: either as part of a whole group activity led from the front
(warm up exercises at the start of the lesson), on an individual directed
task or in small groups of five or six with members of the group
sometimes interacting and sometimes not, discussing how to do the task
set, delegating roles in the group, rehearsing and performing and so
on... It was in this latter situation that difficulties arose. To not be part
of the activity from a drama point of view was not an option, nor would
that be very inclusive! Access was ensured by:
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Modifying the activity to a familiar subject eg Mr Benn and robots

Setting manageable tasks for the included student

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Encouraging the other group members to be clear in their
communication
Modelling where the TA and the included student worked together
as one member of the group.
Progression to peer modelling where a group member took on the
modelling role rather than the TA

d) From Special to specialist: a case study.

By Anne Hutchinson, Deputy Head of Hedgewood School,
Hillingdon.

Background
Hedgewood School is the London Borough of Hillingdons primary school
for children with moderate learning difficulties, and is funded for up to 90
children. Like most MLD schools, its intake has become steadily more
complex in the last few years, and the learning profiles of most children
are complicated by medical, sensory, emotional or communication
difficulties. About 10% of its children have Downs syndrome.

Hedgewood received very good Ofsted reports in both 1997 and 2002,
the latter highlighting the quality of input the school makes to the
inclusive agenda, both within Hillingdon and beyond.

Hedgewoods approach has always been to share the knowledge and

skills we have and to encourage mainstream colleagues to adapt and
develop them in ways that suit their own particular needs. This also
prevents us being seen in a patronising role as the expert and
encourages collaborative relationships between mainstream and special
personnel.

Until about three years ago, Hedgewood made virtually no input into
mainstream schools as discrete institutions, but teachers were often
inundated with requests for advice when they went on LEA curriculum
courses. More recently, however, a number of areas of expertise that we
had developed in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning in
our own school became desirable commodities in mainstream education
as the inclusive agenda in Hillingdon became more clearly focused.
These included Signalong, IT, meeting the needs of children with a
variety of syndromes and conditions known to affect learning, promoting
good behaviour in children with special needs and differentiation.
Shortly afterwards, we started to receive requests from schools to run
curriculum courses and for advice about meeting the needs of individual
pupils with a variety of special needs. Schools, where one of our staff
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had gone to visit pupils likely to transfer to us, recognised their advice as
valuable and started asking for similar input about children likely to
remain in mainstream but whose needs were more significant than they
were accustomed to.

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Unit 2:
Once we had started to do this kind of work the message quickly spread,
and it seemed a good idea to resurrect the Resource Centre plan we had
proposed some years before.

Initially, we carried out an informal internal audit to identify both areas of

expertise and people able and willing to provide INSET. Once this was
done, and we had a clear idea of what we could actually offer
mainstream schools, we consulted with staff, governors and parents to
ascertain their views. Although all parties were very supportive of
initiatives that could promote inclusion, there were various areas of
concern that we had to address. All three parties were concerned that
the quality of provision for Hedgewoods own pupils might be diluted, and
a very clear commitment was made that they would always have priority
over commitments outside the school. The governors and some parents
and staff were concerned about overwork, and as far as possible, we
have compensated staff either by time in lieu or financial arrangements.
Some staff wanted training, and we were able to arrange focussed
training in presentation skills. A few staff were concerned that they might
feel duty-bound to be involved in this work when they felt they didnt want
to be, and they were reassured that they would not be placed under
pressure. We then put together a Beacon bid, which, though
unsuccessful, became the basis for the way we have developed.

Supporting inclusion
Our aims during the last three years have been as follows:

1. To develop expertise in meeting the needs of our changing population.

One aspect of this, Signalong, is now a major way we promote
inclusion within the LEA.
2. To provide quality INSET at the Teachers Centre, at Hedgewood and
in individual schools covering both curriculum areas and aspects of
special needs.
3. To offer research and work experience placements to students and
professionals with an interest in special needs.
4. To provide an Outreach service to mainstream schools which focuses
on meeting the needs of individual SEN children with a view to
retaining them within mainstream.

The first aim increases the inclusion of children with very complex needs
within the LEA rather than being sent out of borough, while the others
increase the retention and inclusion of children with special needs within
their local, mainstream setting.

1)To develop expertise in meeting the needs of our changing

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population.

Our ongoing determination to improve our expertise in meeting the

needs of our changing population has focused on children on the autistic

11
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spectrum and/or with speech, language and communication difficulties.
The two aspects we have focused on have been methodology and
differentiation, which has enhanced our ability to provide a service to
mainstream schools which focuses on meeting the needs of individual
SEN children with a view to retaining them within mainstream and
augmentative communication.

Augmentative communication
We decided to become a signing-friendly school because we were
moving from having the odd child coming in using Makaton to a situation
where the majority of our younger children required augmentative
communication if they were to learn effectively. Having looked carefully at
both Makaton and Signalong, we opted for the latter because we felt it
provided better opportunities for MLD children with significant language
problems. Shortly afterwards, Hillingdon as an LEA also opted for
Signalong as its official signing language.

Our original intention was that all members of staff would have basic
signing skills in order to allow signing children full access to the daily life
of the school, and then to train certain class teams to a higher level.
However, we soon realised that at some point all classes would have a
need for signing as part of classroom practice, and that the scale of
training needed was therefore bigger than we had expected. This was
the point at which we decided to train some colleagues as Signalong
trainers, and now have three teachers and our senior Teaching Assistant
(all members of SMT) as fully qualified to teach level 1. This meant that
we could both keep the standards of practice within the current staff high
and train new staff effectively.

We hoped to offer some training to people outside the school, but had no
idea of the scale of demand from parents, teachers and other
professionals. We run several 12- hour courses each year, and all are
over subscribed. Access has been enhanced by the provision of courses
both inside the school day and as twilights, and by the provision of a
crche for the children of course participants. Some of these children
have had very significant special needs, and parents have found
childcare arrangements very hard. Feedback shows that these courses
are very highly regarded and have made a real difference to both the
home and school lives of children with a wide variety of special needs,
especially those with Downs syndrome or with complex patterns of need
on the autistic spectrum.

A further consequence has been that some parents of children with very
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complex needs have seen a good special school in action. They are now
comforted by the knowledge that there is a really viable alternative to
mainstream if they ever feel that that is how their childrens needs might
be better met at some point in their childrens education. We know that
several children have actually come to Hedgewood as a result of this.

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2) To provide quality INSET
As well as the INSET in Signalong, we provide quality INSET in a
number of other ways.

Information technology
Hedgewood has always had a real commitment to the use of IT. All
teachers have completed NOF training and have considerable expertise
in the use of Publisher, Word, PowerPoint, Clicker, Widget and the use of
interactive whiteboards and we have three Widget trainers. All of this was
designed to provide our children with effective strategies and materials to
support learning and personal IT skills.

As a spin-off from this, we have provided several INSET courses in

Clicker for mainstream teachers and teaching assistants. However, our
main inclusive effort has come from two colleagues, who have, between
them, acted as NOF mentors for several hundred mainstream and
special school teachers. This has been mainly online, but involved some
training sessions in schools as well.

Input into certificated courses

Our main input into certificated courses (other than Signalong) is with
teaching assistants. Two current teaching assistants are CLANSA
assessors and offer a lot of support in developing the inclusive practice
of their candidates.

Training about Assessment is provided in both CLANSA and STAC

courses, ensuring that the whole ability range, including children
assessed by P scales, is covered.

Also provided is a session on differentiation for an OCN-validated course

run by Hillingdon and supported by the Downs Syndrome Association,
which attracts a mixture of LEA advisors, mainstream and special
teachers and teaching assistants from both Hillingdon and further afield.

Curriculum-based INSET
It is the aim of all curriculum co-ordinators to keep abreast of their
subject and to build links with mainstream colleagues and with LEA
advisors and INSET providers. As a result of our ability to demonstrate
good primary practice through these contacts, Hedgewood staff have
been invited to provide a considerable amount of INSET at the Teachers
Centre and at some local schools. Few of these subject-based sessions
have been specifically designated as inclusive, but we have adopted the
policy of weaving an inclusive approach into all of them so that inclusion
becomes viewed as a natural part of the educational process rather than
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a bolted-on afterthought. We also provide a handbook of inclusive

access strategies entitled Tricks of the Trade when we run courses, and
we have had very positive feedback about it.

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 Unit 2:
More than half the curriculum courses we provide are about primary
Science, while the rest include IT, Mathematics, Literacy and History.
Such courses have been provided to Hillingdon mainstream teachers,
OTT and GTP teacher, TTA-funded returnees courses and PGCE
students. Many of these people come from outside our own LEA and
thus we are able to disseminate inclusive practice further afield.

INSET focusing on Special Needs

Some of this has been a general introduction to special needs, but most
has dealt with differentiation. Some years ago, we broke down all
curricular areas into very detailed tables we called curriculum maps.
These show continuity and progression from a true W1 to level 3, and
extending in some subjects to level 5. The W1 is roughly P7/8. Much of
our INSET is based on these materials, because they form a powerful
tool for planning across the whole ability range in mainstream primary
schools. These materials are available to anybody who wants them,
which means that we are able to promote inclusive practice by providing
tools for inclusive planning. We are currently setting up a similar system
for P5-level 1, which will overlap with our current system.

3) To offer research and work experience placements

We provide opportunities for people on a variety of courses including
CLANSA, NVQs A Levels, medical courses, first and higher degrees
and PGCE. We have also had a number of visitors through the TTA
Open Schools scheme and have a constant stream of teachers and
teaching assistants from mainstream.

Each placement is very carefully discussed with the visitors concerned

to help create a programme tailor-made for each visitor. We have to
consider the impact on our children and teaching personnel of all these
visitors, and do not place them in certain classes, where there are ASD
children who are very easily unsettled, without very careful preparation
including the use of photographs prior to the visit.

We have also had a number of overseas visitors, who are generally

focused on comparative studies of SEN education.

4) To provide an Outreach service to mainstream schools

At present we offer advice for children who:
Are dyslexic
Have syndromes known to affect learning
Are on the autistic spectrum
Have moderate learning difficulties
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We also act as a first port of call when schools realise they are working
with a child who is experiencing difficulties in learning, but are not sure
what the source of the problem is.

14
Unit 2:
This work is very time consuming and means a lot of time out of class,
and this is an issue that needs to be considered when a school works in
this kind of way. Our Beacon bid actually included funding for a
permanent floating teacher to provide security for classes whose
teachers were out of school, and we suspect that the additional expense
was a factor in its rejection. Consequently, we do have to limit the work
we do in this field and sometimes cannot respond to requests for
Outreach as quickly as we would like.

Generally, each visit will have been preceded by extensive

conversations on the phone, so that we have as clear a picture as
possible before we visit. Visits usually last about 2 hours, and are a
mixture of classroom observation and activities with the child. There may
be more than one such visit. The classroom session is followed by
discussion with the class teacher and teaching assistant if there is one.
Often, SENCOs and/or deputies/heads join in with this. An extensive
written report follows. Depending on the circumstances, return visits may
be agreed to see how things are developing. We evaluate the success
of each Outreach package both by verbal feedback and by
questionnaire.

Hedgewoods next steps

Our next step is to become established as a CAP centre. CAP is the
Communication Aids Project, initially running for two years and funded
by the DFES via BECTa. It targets any children who have difficulties that
affect communication e.g. hearing, speech and language, visual, ASD,
physical and medical conditions. It aims to provide supportive
technology, usually in the form of software to enhance the use of
hardware supplied by LEAs.

The result will be that mainstream schools will have access to a

resource/assessment centre that can provide them with technological
aids that either they are not aware of or cannot realistically afford,
together with appropriate training. This helps include children in
mainstream school by providing them with opportunities to use up-to-
date equipment and software, and thus access the curriculum in ways
appropriate to their needs. Hedgewood itself will benefit by promoting
inclusion within mainstream sessions, thus enhancing its specialist
school role, and by acquiring expertise that will be of value to its own
children. Expenses will be covered, but it is non-profit making.

Conclusion
We feel very positive about our future role as both a special school for
children with complex patterns of learning and as a resource for the
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promotion of inclusive practice within mainstream schools.

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 Unit 2:
e) HAYBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL SUNFIELD, Clent,
Worcestershire
Lesley Ross, Deputy Head teacher

Sunfield is a residential Special school, situated in 60 acres of beautiful

parkland, on the edge of a village. Fortunately, we are on the edge of the
Birmingham conurbation, so we are able to take advantage of a wide
variety of local facilities.

Of particular significance has been our association with schools in the

local area. Haybridge High School, a large and thriving secondary
school, just three miles away, has proved to be a valuable link. In 1999
we managed a very successful social integration project, with a group of
students in the first year of the sixth form, over the course of the summer
term. There were several different activities for the groups to do Art
and Craft, Stable Management and Riding, and using the Trails packs -
written to provide a focus for activities in the grounds. It was a
wonderful, warm summer of blue skies and sunshine, and a
tremendously successful project. One of the relationships between the
students has endured, and although both have now left school and gone
their separate ways, they are still in contact with one another. Others
from the Haybridge cohort have returned to us for Work Experience, or
just a visit on one of our Open days.

With the advent of the national drive for secondary schools to specialise,
during the year of 2000, Haybridge High School put together a bid to
become a Technology College with a strong emphasis on ICT. A
significant part of their bid included their proposals for associations with
organisations in the local community. This included a commitment to
train Sunfield staff, and to work with Sunfield students to achieve ASDAN
qualifications.

In the Spring Term of 2002 the first group of sixteen Sunfield staff
successfully completed a three day training programme, devised by
Haybridge, to upgrade their computer skills. Every year another sixteen
will be provided for.

The following term, a group of Sunfield students from our Key Stage 4
and Further Education classes began weekly ICT sessions with four
Haybridge High School students in Haybridges up-to-date and well
equipped ICT suite. The Sunfield students were more able, already had
some computer skills, and they enjoyed using the computer.
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Introductions began at Sunfield, where the Haybridge students listened

to a short talk about the nature of disability, about the Sunfield students
and a brief overview of specific teaching strategies and organisation
responses used at Sunfield. They were shown around the school by
their Sunfield counterparts, and then they joined in with an afternoons

16
Unit 2:
activities, before having a cup of tea and a slice of a specially baked
cake! It was understood from the outset that the friendships that we
hoped would develop could not be directed but would evolve so there
was no attempt at putting the students together in pairs.

The students from Haybridge High School were in the first year of the
Sixth form, and decided that they would like to work with students from
Sunfield, because they understand and applaud the principles behind an
inclusive society, but had very few opportunities to make contact with
people outside their own social circle. They were at the stage when they
were beginning to think about their career paths, and were exploring the
possibilities of working with people. All struck a very good balance with
Sunfield students. They were not patronising, and they did not try to
help too much. They were friendly, but not too exuberant or excitable.
They were excellent role models for the Sunfield cohort.

ICT Link between Sunfield and Haybridge High School

Before the first session began, a member of staff from Sunfield met with
Matt, Claudia and Dave from Haybridge, introduced them to the ASDAN
scheme, and planned the first morning. They planned an informal, social
occasion. Sunfield students would introduce themselves not only by
name, but also using finger spelling. Matt, Claudia and Dave would
show the Sunfield students around their school. One or two break the
ice party games were played - all to help the students to get to know
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each other, before the work towards accreditation started.

The aim was for Sunfield students to achieve the ASDAN Towards
Independence award Using a Computer but as important to us was
the social interaction between Sunfield students and their peers from
Haybridge.
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 Unit 2:
Towards Independence is designed for use by students in Further
Education. Each module stands alone, unlike some of the other ASDAN
schemes (such as The Youth award Scheme) which builds up to an
award. To achieve a Towards Independence module, students builds up
a portfolio of evidence, showing how they have achieved the things the
module requires. It is acknowledged that different students need
different levels of support, and this may vary according to the activity.
Students and their tutors must identify the level of support that has been
needed for each activity, and ASDAN supplies coloured stickers for this
purpose. When all the work has been completed, the student is asked to
identify which level of support has been used the most, and that is what
is recorded on the Certificate.

Levels of Support are:

NH No Help - you can do things on your own

SH Spoken/Signed Help - you are helped by someone speaking

or signing suggestions to you

GH Gestural Help - you are helped by someone using

hand signals or other gestural prompts

PH Physical Help - you are helped by someone holding

you and/or helping you to move

SE Sensory Experience - you are given the opportunity of being

involved through a sensory experience
e.g. hearing, touch, sight or taste

ER Experience Recorded - you are provided with the experience of

the activity but are unable to take part.

Evidence for the accreditation has to be collected to show how the

students have achieved the activities.

The evidence can be in the form of:

Pictures

Photographs

Video
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Audiotape

Computer

Or other means.
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Unit 2:
Matt and Claudia and Dave were invited to have a think about how
evidence could be gathered. A digital camera was available, and we
were able to ask Graeme to identify parts of the computer by pointing to
them. He was used to having his photograph taken, and was happy to
pose for the camera.

Other evidence was gathered by using catalogues from shops selling

computers, and cutting out pictures, and labelling the parts required.
Graeme likes overwriting so he wrote the names of the parts of the
computer beside the pictures.

After the first two sessions this promises to be a most successful link.
The students are beginning to form a real bond, and are working
alongside each other as equals. Sunfield students are having the
opportunity to jostle in the corridors of a busy High school, as they make
their way to the Hall for their break Haybridge students are dispelling
myths and fears about people with learning difficulties, and relating to
them as one young person to another. By the end of the year they are
confident that the accreditation goal will be achieved.

Claudia and Craig, Matt and Graeme.

Lesley Ross
Deputy Headteacher
Sunfield
Clent
Worcestershire
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 Unit 2:
Contacts
Anne Hutchinson
Deputy Head
Hedgewood School
Weymouth Rd
Hayes
Middlesex
UB4 8NF
Te. 0208 8456756
Fax 0208 841 3549

Sarah Kehaya
Devon Inclusion Project
Inclusion Facilitator
King Edward V1 Community College
Ashburton Rd, Totnes, Devon.
Tel. 01803 869200

Lesley Ross,
Deputy Headteacher
Sunfield School
Clent
Stourbridge, Worcestershire, DY9 9PB
Tel. 01562 882253

Jenny Wager, Headteacher,

Sarah Mitson, Outreach Teacher
Bishopswood School
Grove Rd
Sonning Common Oxon RG4 9RJ
Tel 0118 9724311
Fax 0118 972 1019

Useful Reading
1. Special School Working Group Report (2003) DfES.
2. Tilstone, C., Florian, L. & Rose, R. (1998) Promoting Inclusive
Practice. Routledge.
3. Removing Barriers to Achievement, the Governments Strategy for
SEN 2004. (DfES/0117/2004).

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved
Unit 2

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.

20
 Unit 3: Planning for Teaching and Learning
a) The Learning Profile of children with Downs
syndrome.

Children with Downs syndrome are not simply developmentally

delayed, but have a specific learning profile with characteristic
strengths and weaknesses. For example, Wang (1996) showed
physical differences in the brains of youngsters with Downs
syndrome that can help to explain specific weaknesses in certain
verbal skills and activities and relative strengths in visual-motor skills.

When planning and differentiating programmes of work, the

characteristic learning profile, together with individual needs and
variations within that profile, must be considered and matched to the
subject matter.

HOW DOWNS SYNDROME AFFECTS LEARNING

Clumsiness Problems in being

Gross understood
Handwriting Word finding
difficulties motor Word finding
difficulties problems
Dressing Fine Difficulties in
motor Language following
problems delay
problems instructions

Limited CHILD Short attention

understanding span
Weak Hearing
Problems auditory Confusion
problems over school
with maths memory
Visual rules
problems
Difficulties Immature
with phonics social skills
Problems in
accessing school
resources

The following factors are typical of many, not all, children with
Downs syndrome. Each has implications for their education and
learning.
Unit 3

1. Strong visual awareness and visual learning skills. The ability to

learn and use sign, gesture and visual support. The ability to learn to
read and to use the written word.

1
 Unit 3:
2. The desire and ability to learn from their peers, to imitate and take
their cue from them.

3. Delayed motor skills, fine and gross, due to poor muscle tone
(hypotonia) and loose ligaments. Delay is particularly apparent in the
early years and can affect cognitive development. However, with
additional help and support, problems often tend to improve by the
age of 10 years.

4. Visual impairments, with 60-70% being prescribed glasses before the

age of seven.

5. Auditory impairments, with up to 20% having a sensorineural loss,

caused by developmental defects in the ear and auditory nerves.
Over 50% are likely to suffer from a conductive hearing loss due to
glue ear caused by frequent upper respiratory tract infections which
often occur as a result of smaller sinuses and ear canals. Clarity in
hearing due to glue ear can fluctuate daily.

6. Speech and language delay. Problems with articulation,

comprehension, expression and learning grammar. Receptive skills,
however, are greater than expressive skills. As a result of language
delay, thinking and reasoning skills are inevitably affected, making it
more difficult to make generalisations, to transfer skills from one
situation to another or to make decisions and choices. In addition,
grasping abstract concepts and problem solving abilities may be
affected.

7. Poor short-term auditory memory, causing difficulties with processing,

storing and retaining verbal information. Any deficit in short-term
auditory memory will greatly affect pupils ability to respond to the
spoken word or learn from any situation entirely reliant on their
auditory skills.

8. Weak consolidation, retention and concentration span.

Pupils with Downs syndrome generally have short concentration
spans, take time to learn and to consolidate new skills, and their
ability to retain new learning can fluctuate from day to day. In addition,
many are passive learners and the consolidation of new skills may be
compromised by poor motivation, avoidance strategies or inconsistent
performance. Research has shown that some pupils with Downs
syndrome tend to make poor use of acquired skills and in fact have
higher levels of ability than they generally exhibit.
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9. Sensitivity to failure. Many pupils are sensitive to failure and can,

therefore, be unwilling to tackle new tasks. In addition, some may
have particular difficulty in correcting wrong responses once a
mistake has been made and highlighted.

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Unit 3:
b) Classroom planning and IEPs.

In developing an appropriate programme for the student with Downs

syndrome, teachers need to combine information they receive from
parents, colleagues and other professionals with observation of the
student in the classroom, their response to the teaching programme
offered and the results of any more formalised assessment
procedures.

By using all four sources of information, the class teacher should be

able to build up a picture of:
1) the childs language and communication skills,
2) their gross and fine motor skills,
3) their literacy skills,
4) their numeracy skills.

In addition they should be aware of:

5) the students individual learning style,
6) their ability to function independently,
7) their social skills and ability to form relationships,
8) their level of inclusion in the life of the school.

This information should then form the basis of the students Individual
Education Plan, with targets being selected from at least six of the
eight areas described above.

All adults involved in delivering the students programme should be

involved in drawing up the IEP.

At regular intervals the IEP should be reviewed to ensure that:

1) The targets are still appropriate and the interventions still effective,
2) attention is being paid to social as well as curricular goals,
3) the student is becoming more independent as well as more
skilled,
4) staff are becoming increasingly confident in meeting the students
needs.

While each school or LEA will have their preferred model for IEPs,
some examples are appended which may prove useful.
(See Appendix 1).
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 Unit 3:
c) Using support staff effectively

To help children learn, it is important that teaching assistants are

never asked to take responsibility for teaching new skills without
appropriate training and support. Instead they should see themselves
as members of a working team.

Where two or more adults are working with all the students in the
class, adult roles should be clearly defined to ensure that all students
receive attention on a regular basis. Without this, as research has
shown, the presence of the additional adults is of little benefit to the
teacher or the children. In some cases it can even be
counterproductive, for example giving undue attention to children
behaving inappropriately.

In some special school settings, children with Downs syndrome are

amongst the most able and present relatively few behaviour problems.
There is a danger, therefore, that their needs will be neglected in
favour of students with more significant difficulties.

Systems such as room management can help overcome some of

these problems by ensuring that each student receives input on a
daily basis from the member of staff designated as the individual
worker, knowing that the needs of the other pupils will be attended to
by the activity manager or the mover.

Whatever the system used, support staff should liaise regularly with
the class teacher and provide feedback on the childs response to the
curriculum.They should set high expectations and refuse to accept
immature or silly behaviour. To overcome memory problems, they
should remind the child regularly about school and class rules.

Interactions with peers providing good models of behaviour should be

fostered and other children encouraged to tell the child when they
dont like their behaviour. To facilitate the formation of friendships,
teaching assistants should give the child opportunities to interact
without close adult supervision. No Velcrod assistants please.

To help the child become more independent, teaching assistants need

to allow children to make mistakes and then try to solve their own
problems before seeking help. They should avoid being a helicopter,
hovering over the child in case they have any problems.
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They should give children responsibilities within the classroom and

encourage them to see themselves as capable and independent
members of the class. Where the child has come from a mainstream
setting they may need help in adjusting to being one of a group,
rather than having their own individualised support.

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Unit 3:

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHING ASSISTANT

Should decrease as child Should increase as curriculum

gains in independence. becomes more complex.

In-class support Liaison & planning

Preparation of
Small group work
teaching
One to one Assessment &
teaching record keeping

d) Differentiating learning experiences

John Visser defines differentiation as "the process whereby teachers

meet the need for progress through the curriculum by selecting
appropriate teaching methods to match an individual childs learning
strategies, within a group situation"

Differentiation is thus an integral part of effective teaching practice for

all pupils, enabling them to work at their own level and pace, make
progress and achieve. It requires an understanding and awareness of
individual differences between pupils and the implications of these
differences in terms of access to the curriculum.

Differentiation is by no means a simple business. It calls for the

modification of curriculum objectives and learning outcomes, of
activities, resources and forms of assessment. Each needs to be
matched to the pupils individual abilities and needs, strengths and
weaknesses, learning styles, aptitudes and developmental stage.

The temptation is to look for a single solution e.g. focusing solely on

the ability of the child. Attention is paid to the pupils level of
attainment and the content of the lesson simplified accordingly.
However little thought is given to how the pupil learns most effectively.
When differentiating the curriculum for a pupil with learning difficulties,
how the content is delivered is at least as important as the content
itself.
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Effective differentiation aims to use the pupils strengths and learning

styles, while taking into account their areas of weakness and
developmental stage. A flexible approach is, therefore, required.

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 Unit 3:
By the time pupils reach Key Stage 4, the issue of curriculum access
becomes even more problematic and schools may need to focus
increasingly on vocational skills, independence and social
competence.
There is a tension, however, between these aims and the need to
relate pupil progress to achievement in the National Curriculum.
There is a minimum that all teachers should expect any pupil to
experience, giving them some relevant understanding of the subject
as well as useful skills. This means there must be a fine balance
between the subject content in a lesson or activity and the pupils
individual needs.
Not all children will be matching national curriculum descriptions of
performance. The P scales are designed to be used for pupils
working below National Curriculum Level 1 and can be used to
measure pupil performance and attainment by providing a framework
against which progress can be matched.
Performance criteria for attainment below National Curriculum Level
are found in the DfES/QCA guidance Planning, teaching and
assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties and relate
to pupils aged five to sixteen who are unlikely to achieve above level
2 at key stage 4. These subject based guidelines help develop and
plan an inclusive curriculum in all schools and assess and recognise
attainment.
As the DfES/QCA note in these guidelines: "All pupils should be
provided with opportunities to acquire, develop, practice, apply and
extend their skills in a range of contexts across the curriculum. These
skills will also be relevant to life and learning outside and beyond the
school".
For many pupils, choosing programmes of study and performance
descriptions from earlier key stages may be more appropriate in order
for them to demonstrate attainment and make progress. This can be
achieved by mapping the programmes of study and level descriptions
down the key stages to suit a childs particular level of access and
understanding, can clarify how the main objectives of a particular
activity can be re-interpreted to allow the child to demonstrate the
level at which they are working.
Effective curriculum planning builds upon previous progress, learning
and attainment, to promote future progress, learning and attainment.
Plans should thus show progression. However, progression for some
pupils is not always hierarchical but lateral, focusing upon learning to
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perform the same skills but in a range of contexts. This is particularly

important for pupils with Downs syndrome who can have particular
difficulties with generalising and transferring skills. Mapping across
the levels in different subjects to reinforce the development of
particular concepts and skills can therefore be especially helpful.
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Unit 3:
Examples of Curriculum Mapping

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7
 Unit 3:

Science Life Processes

Level W
Introduce the words "alive" relating to self, then animals, plants & "not
alive" relating to inanimate objects e.g chair.
People & pets need food & plants need water to stay alive.
To name basic parts of plant - "flower" / "leaves".

Level 1
Understand the words "alive" and "not alive" relating to self, then
animals, plants and to inanimate objects e.g chair.
Simple identifiers of being alive e.g movement and death.
Natural objects e.g stones, rain have never been alive.
Plants & animals die if they do not get the things they need.
Learn additional parts of plants roots, etc.

Level 2
Begin to use less obvious identifiers to being alive breathing,
growing, reacting to light, reproduction.
Many familiar objects are "dead" but originated in living thing.
Plants need food, air & water.
Living things benefit from warmth & shelter.

Level 3
Use less obvious identifiers of being alive breathing, growing,
reacting to light, reproduction.
Plants/animals need air & food to make energy to live and excrete
waste.

Level 4 & 5
Food respiration in humans.
Photosynthesis in green plants.

Further examples of Curriculum Mapping can be found in Appendix 2.

Unit 3

8
Unit 3:
Key principles
KEY PRINCIPLES FORforDIFFERENTIATION
differentation
CONTENT
+ Decide upon the main focus you wish the pupil to learn.
+ Look at level descriptors below the standard key stage and
at programmes of study from earlier key stages to give you ideas.
+ Check content relates to previously acquired knowledge & skills.
+ Try to reflect points from the pupils IEP.
+ Ensure you provide opportunities for pupils personal skills, such
as independence & cooperation with peers, to be developed

APPROACH & CONTEXT

+ Ensure learning objectives are broken down into small steps.
+ Ensure they are clearly focused & short
+ Use familiar & meaningful material.
+ Build in additional repetition & reinforcement.
+ Choose appropriate contexts- whole class, small group or partner.
+ Choose appropriate level of support- TA, peer or teacher.
+ Consider learning outcomes at the same time as planning tasks.

PRESENTATION
+ Remember pupils learn best through a multi-sensory approach- seeing,
copying, doing, feeling.
+ Present all work visually- print, diagrams, pictures, symbols.
+ Ensure oral instructions are reinforced visually.
+ Use concrete & practical materials whenever possible.
+ Use simple & familiar language. Keep instructions short & concise.
+ Teach key words & subject specific vocabulary.

RESPONSE & ASSESSMENT

+ Ensure that the methods of response expected are realistic
& appropriate.
+ Provide alternative means of recording- computer, dictaphone,
pictures, digital camera, flash cards or stickers.
+ Look at level descriptors below the standard range for the key stage.
+ Provide lists of words within the pupils sight vocabulary, including
key words, to aid free writing.
+ Decide how progress will be monitored and recorded.

Finally and most importantly, pupils with Downs syndrome

characteristically rely on their visual learning skills rather than their
auditory skills. Poor short term auditory memory, poor auditory
discrimination and possibly a fluctuating hearing loss, all combine to
make learning by auditory means alone very difficult. On the other
hand, the combination of strong visual skills with the ability to read,
means that, using simple, clear and meaningful text and/or symbols
with clear pictures or diagrams for reinforcement, can be extremely
useful. They need a visual, practical and kinesthetic approach, using
Unit 3

real life, concrete and practical materials.

9
 Unit 3:
In preparing worksheets for a student with Downs syndrome the
following tips, adapted from Lewis, may be helpful.

1. Use meaningful material within or close to the pupils experience.

2. Introduce new concepts in a familiar context.

3. Make the tasks self contained.

4. Provide plenty of visual clues - words, symbols, pictures, diagrams.

5. Ensure illustrations tie in closely with text and task.

6. Give plenty of opportunities for success.

7. Use the pupils feedback to decide whether or not the worksheet

fulfils your educational aims and objectives.

8. Supplement the worksheet with a taped version of the task

instructions, which the pupil can play for reinforcement.

9. If possible try out several different versions of the same worksheet

to discover what works best for the individual pupil.

10. Differentiate clearly between text and illustrations.

11. Leave a wide border all round the edge of the page.

12. Highlight and explain key words and any that are new to the pupil.

13. Illustrate key words if possible.

14. Use type or print, not handwriting.

15. Use subheadings to break down and structure the written sheet.

16. Use a simple uncluttered layout. Too busy a page causes confusion.

17. Break up continuous text. Highlight instructions in some way: in a

box, particular font or colour.

18. Use coloured as well as white paper, both for variety and to help the
pupil distinguish one subject area from another.
Unit 3

19. Use simple and familiar language. Keep sentences short and
concise.

20. Avoid ambiguous words. Use active rather than passive verbs.

10
Unit 3:
Example of Worksheets

Useful Reading
Carpenter, B. (2001) Enabling Access, Effective Teaching and Learning
for Pupils with Learning Difficulties. 2nd Edition. David Fulton.
DfES/QCA (2001), Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for
pupils with learning difficulties,
Wang, P. P. (1996) A neuropsychological profile of Down syndrome:
cognitive skills and brain morphology. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev:
Down Syndrome 2(2): 102-108 Wishart J.
Unit 3

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.

11
Unit 4: Developing gross motor skills
in children with Downs syndrome

a) Introduction
The development of motor skills in children with Downs syndrome often lags
behind that of typically developing peers. This is mainly due to loose ligaments
and low muscle tone (hypotonia). Hypotonia affects all the muscles in the body
although this tends to decrease with age.

In addition to hypotonia, children with Downs syndrome generally have a

number of physical characteristics, which affect the development of dexterity,
manipulation and co-ordination, causing delay in the development of both fine
and gross motor skills. They have smaller hands and shorter fingers than their
typically developing peers; the thumb is often set lower down; and the arms and
legs tend to be shorter relative to their torso.

The development of motor skills and cognitive skills are inter-related.

Improvements in one area will support the other to help the child explore,
understand and learn about their environment. Delayed milestones in motor
development will inevitably, therefore, limit experiences and have a knock-on
effect on the development of cognitive skills.

It is important to remember, too, that while the development of fine and gross
motor skills can be targeted separately in many situations, they often have a
direct influence on each other. For instance, the development of writing skills (a
fine motor skill) is actively influenced by the childs ability to sit correctly (a gross
motor skill). Therefore, ensuring that the child is in an upright and stable
position with feet flat on the floor and the forearm comfortably resting on the
desktop is essential before checking that the child is progressing towards using
a correct pencil grip rather than continuing to use an early tripod grip.

All motor activities, both fine and gross, need to be taught in a structured and
systematic way, and children will need additional practice and experiences. In
the following sections, Yifat Skehan from Hedgewood School, Hillingdon,
Middlesex describes the six areas of motor development and in Appendix 3
details a programme for developing gross motor skills in conjunction with
organisational and cognitive skills in children with Downs syndrome.

b) Motor development
By Yifat Skehan, Hedgewood School, Middlesex

The process of motor development involves complex changes, where one stage
or aspect merges into another. In the first few years, most of the changes in
posture and movement appear to follow a broad but orderly predictable
sequence, which may be largely due to a dependence on the maturation of the
neural system. However, inherited physical and anatomical characteristics,
alongside psychological maturation and environmental factors, will influence the
mode of motor development and performances.
Unit 4

As with all children, those with Downs syndrome have their own unique
personalities and characteristics of development. In addition it is likely that they
will have some features, which adversely influence motor development such as
maturational delay in central nervous system organisation, low muscle tone, and
problems within the autonomic postural control system, particularly weight shift,
body orientation and balance.
1
 Unit 4:
It is clear that an infant with any of these problems can miss achieving some of
the essential first phases of motor development, or become stuck at a
particular stage.

Such delays in motor development can have crucial consequences on sensory-

motor aspects of their functioning. Limited spatial exploration due to lateness in
rolling, sitting, crawling and walking may cause fine and gross motor problems,
as well as inefficient body and spatial awareness, slow motor planning and lack
of co-ordination.

Any motor programme for children with Downs syndrome will have to assess
and target difficulties in a number of areas. It will need to follow the childs
normal motor development and to focus on key areas that will enable the child
to achieve motor competency as well as working on social, emotional and
cognitive aspects of development, through movement.

Six crucial areas of motor development, described below, are:

1. Body awareness,
2. Spatial awareness,
3. Balance,
4. Rhythm and movement control,
5. Co-ordination,
6. Basic skills (crawling, walking, running, jumping, swinging, climbing, ball
skills).

The programme in Appendix 3 addresses each of these areas and targets the
tasks, by breaking them into achievable objectives. The programme also covers
all aspects of the national curriculum in P.E. (athletics, gymnastic, ball skill,
swimming, dance, outdoor activities, small and big games etc.) in order to
expose the children to a wide variety of equipment and skills.

c) Six areas of motor development

1. Body awareness

Body awareness is concerned with the knowledge and inner perception of body
parts, their location and their function. The awareness will develop in three
stages:

i). Body parts recognition in self and others.

ii). Movement control - how to use specific body parts in order to perform a
motor task.
iii). Integration of different body parts in order to perform a complex motor task.

The first years are the most critical for development of body awareness and
body scheme. It is extremely important to expose the child to different sensory-
motor activities, to help them become familiar with their own body, to control
Unit 4

movement efficiently, and to recognise and accept limitations.

Efficient body awareness will contribute to the childs development in other

areas: spatial awareness and positional language, co-ordination, crossing the
midline, bi-laterality (left & right) etc.

2
Unit 4:
2. Spatial awareness

Spatial awareness, in this motor context, is the ability to move efficiently in two
types of spaces:

The personal space - the space around the body, which can be reached
without changing or moving from the support base.
The general space is endless and can be limited only by our senses or by
objects in it.

Spatial awareness reflects the ability to deal with organising and interpreting the
feedback we are getting from our surroundings, and is influenced by many
factors e.g. neurological maturation, motor development, general perception,
cognitive development and practice of movement in the two spaces.

Understanding concepts such as: shape, size, quantity, space, direction, times
and speed will help the child in relating to his personal and general space
efficiently.

Visual perception is essential in order to gain sufficient spatial awareness, and

can be separated into 6 main abilities:

Constancy perception - constancy of object, shape and size

Figure and ground perception the ability to distinguish the figure from the
surrounding
Whole object versus parts perception the ability to see the whole and the
parts
Spatial orientation perception the ability to identify placement of objects in
space
Perception of movement the ability to follow a moving object
Depth perception the ability to see things in a three dimensional way

Difficulty in any perceptional area will lead to spatial awareness problems, and
can hold back the childs mental and motor development.

Focusing work on that subject in relation to movement can improve the childs
abilities in that specific area, which will contribute to develop other cognitive
abilities such as reading, writing and mathematics.

3. Balance
Balance is something we all take for granted when, in reality, it is an
extraordinarily complicated system.

The brain interprets motion by way of three separate channels of input:

The eyes: spatial orientation and postural control, requires spatial

interpretation of visual stimulation.
The ears: holding the vestibular system that interprets two ways of stability:
i). Static - which refer to orientation of the body (mainly the head)
Unit 4

relative to the ground (gravity).

ii). Dynamic - which is the maintenance of the body position (mainly the head)
in response to movements such as rotation, acceleration and deceleration.
The vestibular system sends information referring to the horizontal or
vertical posture of the body relative to the ground.

3
 Unit 4:
The Kinaesthetic and tactile systems: send sensory input of position and
movement of parts of the body (along the mid vertical line), and is made
possible by receptors in the skeletal muscles, skin, joints and tendons.

The information goes from the three input channels, through the central nervous
system, to a part of the brain called the cerebellum which integrates and
interprets the information and sends feedback to the different body parts.

A dysfunction of any of the systems, or the cerebellum, will show as a balance

difficulty. It can be difficult to identify the cause (which system doesnt work
properly) so it is important to put the children in different balancing situations
(postures, heights, dynamic, static) in order to train the balancing systems and
the cerebellum to cope with a large range of possible scenarios that will store in
the brain as motor patterns, and will offer the child more than one option of
balance related problem solving.

4. Rhythm and movement control

Two types of ability measure the rhythmic competence of the individual:

Inner rhythm - the ability to keep a movement for some time without losing
the inner beat (hopping, skipping, running etc.).
Outer rhythm - influenced by a beat from the outside and checking the
ability of the individual to move and control his body according to that beat.

Children with rhythm problems will find it difficult to follow and copy a simple
beat, to move their body to different speeds of music, to sing a simple tune, and
to perform any motor activity more than once or twice, instead of showing flow
of movement and persistency (skipping, hopping, running and stopping, etc.).

Movement control deals with the ability of the individual to decide how much
force, and speed, as well as the right timing and the choice of appropriate body
parts that will enable him to make his motor performance as efficient as
possible.

Motor planning plays a very big part in movement control and represents the
ability to organise the body and carry out a motor activity. The whole body is
involved in the planning of the simplest movement.

Children with difficulties in those areas will demonstrate poor co-ordination,

clumsiness and very inefficient patterns of movement.

5. Co-ordination

Coordination is the integration between the motor and the sensor systems in
the human body. It helps us to perform and control movements, while using two
body parts or more.
Unit 4

Co-ordination is a key word when talking about the simple skills that each child
is required to perform during his first years in life. The ability to co-ordinate our
bodies develops through age and a variety of motor experiences.

4
Unit 4:
Most human motor patterns engage several body parts, which move
simultaneously. Among the movement patterns we can identify 6 co-ordination
groups:

Hand-eye - writing, drawing, target throwing, bouncing a ball etc.

Hand-hand-eye - cutting, sawing, tying knots, clapping, juggling, bow and
arrow, etc.
Leg-eye - kicking, hopping, etc.
Leg-leg-eye - hopscotch, skating, walking, jumping, football, etc.
2 legs-2 hands-eye - hockey, golf, volleyball, basketball, driving, climbing,
skipping, etc.
Whole body-eye - dancing, trampoline, gymnastic, etc.

Focused work on co-ordination will develop laterality, spatial awareness, timing,

rhythm, and will allow better movement control and efficiency when working on
fine or gross motor tasks.

Children with sensor or motor difficulties can demonstrate poor gross or fine
motor co-ordination that may lead to cognitive, emotional and social problems.

6. Basic skills

Basic skills are the fundamental movements that children normally learn in their
first 8 years of life.

Some children with Downs syndrome will be delayed in acquiring these

fundamental skills.

Preschool and primary children are the main population in this stage of motor
development and have to develop and refine these motor skills in order to move
on to the next developmental stage.

Many complex movements that we can identify in different sports and dance are
no more than a highly elaborated form of these fundamental movements that
combine with one another in a more sophisticated level of functioning.

For many years the assumption was made that children develop mature
patterns of movement through the process of growing up. Nowadays, it is well
known that a child should be introduced and exposed to a wide variety of
meaningful movement experiences and situations in order to build a solid motor
foundation that will enable him to achieve in later stages of his motor
development.

We can categorise the fundamental movements into three groups:

Locomotion - walking, running, crawling, leaping, jumping, hopping,

galloping, sliding, skipping, and climbing.
Manipulation - throwing, kicking, striking, volleying, bouncing, rolling,
catching, trapping.
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Stability - balancing, rolling, swinging, spinning, floating.

The next three stages of movement development are:

The general movements (age 8 11) - a child who has achieved this stage
will be able to generalise a specific skill to different situations (simple "big
games").
5
 Unit 4:

Stuarts swing Tom swinging

Callum at the top

Unit 4

Jack with a balloon

6
Toms swing
Unit 4:
The specific movements (age 11 13) - a child who has achieved this stage
will be able to perform specific motor task with great efficiency (complex
sports and games).
The specialised movements (age 14 and over) - the last stage of motor
development depend on two factors:
i) The type of early intervention and the learned motor competency.
ii) Genetic factors like speed, build, muscle mass etc.
This stage will continue developing through life and will determine if the
individual will ever be a great athlete.

References and useful reading

Abraham, M. C. (2002). Sensory integration. McGraw-Hill. (LDA).
Benstein, D. (1967). The co-ordination and regulation of movements. London:
Pergamon.
Bredekampe, S. (1987). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood
programs serving children from birth through age 8. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Young Children
Bissell, J., Fisher, J., Owens, C., Polcyn, P. (1998) Sensory motor hand book.
Sensory integration international.
Brewer, C. & Campbell, D. (1991). Rhythm of learning, creative tools for
developing lifelong skills. Tucson: Zephyr press.
Burns, Y. & Gunn, P. (edit). (1993). Down Syndrome - moving through life.
Chapman & Hall.
Cantor, C. R. Balance Disorders. University of Pennsylvania health system
Journal. (2002).
Cheatum, B. A. (2000). Physical activities for improving childrens learning and
behavior. Publisher: Human kinetics.
Gallahue, D.L. (1976) Motor development and movement experiences for young
children. John Wiley & sons, inc.
Gallahue, D.L. & Ozmun, J.C. (1995) Understanding motor development
(3rd ed.). Wisconsin: Brown & Benchmark.
Kranowitz, C. S. (1998). The out-of-sync child. Skylight Press. New York.
Nehrenz, G. Motion interpretation. The Internet Journal of Rescue and Disaster
medicine. (2000). Vol. 1N1.
Newton, R. (1992). Downs Syndrome (positive health guides). Optima little
brown. London.
Wall, J. & Murry, N. (1994). Children and movement (2nd ed.). Dubuque, IA:
Brown & Benchmark.
Williams, H.G. (1983). Perceptual and Motor Development. Englewood Clifes,
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NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Downs Syndrome Association 2003
All rights reserved
Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.
7
Unit 5: Developing Language Skills

a) Language development in Downs syndrome

Learning to talk is one of the most important things that children do. It
is the basis of their social, emotional and cognitive development.
Consequently, progress in learning to talk will benefit every other
aspect of the childs life.

For children with Downs syndrome, speech and language skills are
often significantly delayed, more so than their non-verbal abilities.
Research has identified a specific profile of speech and language
delays and difficulties associated with Downs syndrome.

Many children with Downs syndrome experience some hearing loss,

especially in the early years. Over 50% are likely to have a
conductive loss due to glue ear, resulting from frequent upper
respiratory tract infections. These infections tend to be exacerbated
by the small sinuses and narrow ear canals typically found in children
with Downs syndrome. In addition, up to 20% may have a sensori-
neural loss, caused by developmental defects in the ear or the
auditory nerves.

If the child you are working with does not respond to verbal
instructions, it is important to determine whether they are ignoring
you, whether they dont understand what you are saying or whether
they are simply unable to hear you properly. Remember, hearing can
fluctuate on a day to day basis, so monitor the childs responses
carefully and get professional help if you are in doubt.

Children with Downs syndrome often have difficulty making speech

sounds because of low muscle tone in the tongue and lips making
their speech imprecise or slurred. A smaller than average oral cavity
leaves less room for the tongue which may appear to be too big for
the mouth, thus impeding speech production.

Mouth breathing due to nasal congestion or enlarged tonsils and

adenoids will also affect intelligibility, fluency and resonance. Vocal
chords may be swollen, affecting their ability to vibrate, resulting in
the hoarse voice typical of many children with Downs syndrome.

Language learning is affected by the childs skills in auditory

discrimination and auditory processing as well as their short term
auditory memory. All of these are slow to develop in children with
Downs syndrome.
Unit 5

Short term auditory memory is the memory store used to hold,

process, understand and assimilate the meaning of spoken language.
A poor short term auditory memory will affect the childs ability to
follow and respond to the spoken word as well as the rate at which
new words are learned.
1
 Unit 5:
Because of their poor working memory, children with Downs
syndrome have greater difficulty than their peers with:
processing and retaining spoken words,
understanding and responding to spoken language,
following verbal instructions,
learning abstract or unfamiliar vocabulary,
remembering rules and routines,
developing organisational skills,
remembering sequences or lists.

Critically, words disappear too quickly from the memory. A child

struggling to process and remember what was said can quickly
become overloaded if given unfamiliar vocabulary or long
complicated sentences. If that happens, they will either switch off
completely or retain only parts of what they have heard, typically the
beginnings or ends of sentences.

This poses real problems for children in school situations with a high
auditory content such as carpet time, circle time, listening to a new
story, assembly, whole class discussions, whole class instructions or
mental arithmetic sessions.

b) Strategies to promote language

To reduce the effects of any hearing loss, children with Downs

syndrome should be placed near the front of the class and
background noise kept to a minimum.

The teacher should speak clearly and directly to the child, taking care
over similarly sounding words such as trees and cheese. She
should maintain eye contact and use visual cues such as pictures,
signs or exaggerated facial expressions to support speech.

To gain their attention, use the childs name before giving them an
instruction or asking them a question.

New vocabulary should be written on the board, once the child has
learned to read, and other childrens answers repeated back.

Any verbal input should be supported in visual form, i.e. keywords,

symbols or drawings.

To improve articulation and phonology, consult a speech and

Unit 5

language therapist about activities that can be incorporated into the

childs learning programme.

2
Unit 5:

Keep records of the childs expressive and comprehension abilities.

Ensure that their true abilities are not underestimated. Observe them
and write down the gestures, signs and words that they already use.
Ask the parents to do the same at home and compare the two lists.

Listen and respond to all the childs communications. Create

Unit 5

opportunities for them to make choices.

Give them time to organise their thoughts and find the words they
want to use. Count to 30 before jumping in.

3
 Unit 5:
Use styles of conversation that will encourage them to expand on
and develop their verbal contribution. Try to avoid closed questions
that require only a one word answer.

Simplify your language whenever you can. Try to use key words in a
sentence e.g. saying Come here instead of Come closer so that I
can hear what you are saying.

Back up words with gestures e.g. finger to lips and Shhh instead of
Stop talking and get on with your work. Use signs and reading
activities to support all speech work.

Repeat individually any instructions given to the class as a whole.

Check the child has understood by asking them to repeat back what
you said.

Give the child with Downs syndrome opportunities to practice their

language in situations that are meaningful for them. Wherever
possible, encourage them to take the lead e.g. giving instructions to
their peers as teachers helper.

Give choices. Instead of Where were you when you lost your book?
try Wheres your book? On the floor? In your tray?.

To improve short term auditory memory:

Play memory games such as I went to market and I bought....
Teach rehearsal techniques e.g. repeating subvocally an instruction
as they complete a task or take a message.

c) Using sign to facilitate language

development

Children who cannot say what they want or how they are
feeling may develop inappropriate behaviours. Visual prompt
cards or cards showing feelings may empower the child to
communicate their needs visually before they can do it
verbally.

Children with Downs syndrome learn to use gestures long

before they can talk. First words are typically delayed even
when early vocabulary is understood. Being able to sign
means children are able to communicate more effectively
and thus frustration is reduced.
Unit 5

Ideally, signing systems such as Makaton or Signalong

should be introduced before the child starts school. However,
it is important that parents and school staff are familiar with

4
Unit 5:
the childs signing system and can back it up both at home
and in school.

Signs help children to use new words while their speech is

still difficult to understand. Signs are a bridge to speaking
and will be needed less as speech develops. As long as
adults talk as they sign, signing will not delay speech
development.

Example of Communication book - using symbols to describe

emotions and feelings.
Unit 5

5
 Unit 5:
Crisps Toilet To look

Working bunched hand touches Extended middle finger of working hand Working index (palm in, pointing up)
supporting flat hand (palm up, pointing (palm back, pointing in/up) brushes moves from side of eye towards object.
in) and moves to working side of mouth supporting side of upper chest.
finishing palm back, pointing up. Pictures copyright of signalong

Children who sign have been found to acquire larger spoken

vocabularies than those who dont. However, it is important that
speech sound work is ongoing alongside the use of signs. The focus
should always be on learning to say words with signs as an aid not
as an alternative.
Speaking should be encouraged as the main means of
communication from around four years of age. By school age, signs
should only be used when necessary and speaking should be the
focus for daily communication.
Nevertheless, communication will be improved if the whole class are
taught to use and understand the first 50-100 signs.

d) Teaching reading to teach talking

Children with Downs syndrome have difficulty learning language from
listening alone. However, they find it easier to learn visually. As a
consequence, printed words are easier for them to remember than
spoken words.
Print can be used from as early as two years of age to support
language learning. Many children with Downs syndrome begin to
read at an early age and can remember printed words with ease.
Reading to children with Downs syndrome and teaching them to read
may be the most effective way to develop speech and language skills
from infancy right through the school years.
Research studies show that teaching reading has a significant effect
Unit 5

on the development of language and working memory for children

with Downs syndrome.
All language targets can be taught with the aid of written materials,
even to children who are not able to remember the words or read
independently.
6
Unit 5:
Reading activities teach new vocabulary and grammar. Reading
enables children to practice complete sentences, teaches word order
and supports correct pronunciation.
Reading can help speech at the level of sounds, whole words or
sentence production.

For some pupils who have significant learning disabilities and, often,
other associated difficulties, it is useful to use objects of reference
initially, followed by photos then pictures with words that are
symbolised using PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)
or Writing with Symbols 2000 (Widgit).
E.g. a swimming costume may be shown initially every time that you
are going to the pool which then progresses onto a photo as a
prompt, then a symbol of the word swimming plus a sign.

Unit 5

7
Unit 5 Unit 5:

8
Unit 5:
Useful reading

1. Alton, S. (2001) Children with Downs syndrome and Short term

Auditory Memory Information sheet. Downs Syndrome Association.

2. Buckley, S. & Bird, G. (2001) Speech & language development for

children with Down syndrome. Down syndrome Issues & Information.
DownsEd.

3. Kumin, L. (2001) Classroom language skills for children with Down

syndrome. Woodbine House.

Language resources

1. Devon Learning Resources, 21 Old Mill Rd., Torquay. TQ2 6AU.

Tel: 01803 605531

2. DownsEd, The Sarah Duffen Centre, Belmont St., Southsea,

Portsmouth, Hants. PO5 1NA. Tel: 023 9285 5330

3. LDA, Duke St., Wisbech, Cambs. PE13 2AE. Tel: 01945 463441

4. Philip & Tacey, North Way, Andover, Hants. SP10 5BA.

Tel: 01264 332171

5. The Signalong Group, Communication Language Centre, North

Pondside, Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent. ME4 4TY.
Tel: 01634 832469

6. Winslow Press, Telford Rd., Bicester, Oxon OX6 OTS.

Tel: 01869 244644

7. Makaton Vocabulary Development Project, 31 Firwood Drive,

Camberley, Surrey, GU15 3QD. Tel: 01276 681368

8. Picture Exchange Communication, Pyramid Educational Consultants

UK Ltd. (PECs).
Tel. 01273 609555. www.pecs.org.uk

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.
Unit 5

9
Unit 6: Developing Literacy Skills

a) Learning to read

Reading is one area of the curriculum where many children with

Downs syndrome can excel, often placing them within the range of
skill exhibited by their typical peers.

In the early years, structured teaching should begin with matching,

selecting and naming pictures. Photos of familiar everyday objects or
family members are a particularly useful resource (Fig. 1). This
should then proceed to word matching, selection and reading.
Because children with Downs syndrome are visual learners, they will
find it easier to learn whole words than letter sounds or syllables.

Fig. 1
Unit 6

1
 Unit 6:
First reading books should have uncomplicated stories and ideas with
simple sentences and accompanying pictures. Supplement these with
home made books using photos of the childs day or weekend
activities (Fig. 2). Use a digital camera in school or ask parents to
provide suitable pictures.

Fig. 2

As well as home made story books, create scrapbooks which can be

used to teach words in categories e.g. furniture, animals or transport.
Use the childs interests as a guide and try to extend them to design
topics for the whole class (Fig. 3).
Unit 6

Fig. 3

2
Unit 6:

Fig. 4

Unit 6

Fig. 5

3
 Unit 6:
New vocabulary should be introduced gradually, using flashcards.
Teach the words from the first books in the school reading scheme or
words the child already uses or understands. Well structured reading
schemes such as Oxford Reading Tree have proved particularly
successful for children with Downs syndrome. However, books
should be selected that reflect real experiences familiar to the child
not fantasy.

Begin early with sentence work. Make sentences with words the child
already knows, using Velcrod strips or sentence holders. Match
flashcard words to sentence strips. Teach the small connecting words
which can prove particularly dificult (Figs. 4, 5, and 6). Link reading to
the childs comprehension of spoken language and use it to develop
grammar and syntax.

Fig. 6

As a general rule, the introduction of symbols to aid reading should

not be necessary for most young children with Downs syndrome.
However, for children who do not readily access whole word learning,
symbols may be necessary. The following examples show an
example of helping a pupil construct a sentence using symbols and
the written word and an example of a symbolised Oxford Reading
Tree storybook (Figs. 7 and 8). When symboling sentences, generally
only symbol the key words as too many symbols make it complicated
and unhelpful. Symbols always appear with the written word.
Unit 6

4
Unit 6:

Fig. 7
Symbols can also be effective when teaching older children more
abstract concepts such as time or in framing "what", "who", "where"
and "why" questions.

Fig. 8
Unit 6

5
 Unit 6:
Once children have mastered the initial or logographic stage of
reading, whereby they recognise words by their visual pattern, they
should be ready to move on to the second or alphabetic stage. Here
letter/sound correspondence is developed and used to build unknown
words from their component parts.

Most children with Downs syndrome maintain their progress in

reading by relying on logographic visual memory strategies. However,
unless they acquire phonic skills, their progress will eventually slow
down or even stop.

While children with Downs syndrome can develop alphabetic

strategies, they are unlikely to do so before they achieve a reading
age of at least seven. So dont worry if phonics dont appear to catch
on in the early years. Nevertheless, children with Downs syndrome
should always be included in class phonics and in work around the
literacy hour.

Schemes that use a very visual approach such as Jolly Phonics or

Alphabats provide easier access to this learning than more auditory
approaches. To aid the development of phonic skills, use words the
child can read as a whole. Teach simple word families with similar
beginnings and endings. Teach initial sounds, graduating to CVC
words and simple blends. However, dont lose heart if progress is
slow. Persevere and they will eventually cotton on.

Remember that reading text is a powerful tool for teaching speech

and language to children with Downs syndrome and for supporting
their cognitive development. Combined with writing, reading can help
improve communication, enabling pupils to achieve greater
independence and enhance their attainment across the curriculum.

b) Teaching handwriting

Handwriting is usually a difficult skill for children with Downs

syndrome to acquire because of their poor muscle tone and
consequent fine motor problems. Try to encourage the child to take
part in emergent writing activities with the rest of the class. Let them
produce a mark or scribble on the top of their pictures to represent
their name.

Try the child with different types and thickness of writing implement,
pencil grips or writing slopes to make the process easier. To increase
Unit 6

learning experiences and keep the pupil motivated, use a wide range
of multisensory activities and materials as alternatives to pencil and
paper. Practice letter shapes using shaving foam, sand, finger paint,
playdough or chalk.

6
Unit 6:
Teach correct letter formation from the beginning using RolnWrite
plastic letters. Alternatively, use letters cut out of sandpaper or with
arrows drawn on to indicate which way to move their pencil. Visual
aids to encourage correct pencil grip can be helpful e.g. drawing a
dog on the childs hand, between the thumb and index finger, to be
stroked by their pencil as they write.

Provide squared paper to encourage consistency in size of letters

(Fig. 9). Reduce the size of the squares over time. Let the child use
lined paper with wide spacing until they can write confidently.

Unit 6

Fig. 9
7
 Unit 6:
In teaching independent writing, encourage the child to use the
following sequence:

i) Write on top of the word using a different coloured pencil or crayon.

ii) Trace over the word using tracing paper.

iii) Complete a dot to dot version of the word.

iv) Copy the word directly underneath the model.

v) Copy the word from a separate card.

vi) Copy the word from the board or a wall display.

vii) Write familiar words from dictation.

viii) Tell a story to an adult then let them dictate it back one word at a
time.

For some children with extreme finger and hand weakness, advice
from an occupational therapist or specialist teacher for pupils with
physical difficulties may be helpful.

It can be useful for the younger child to have a collection of items

specifically chosen in order to improve strength in wrists and hands,
and improve finger dexterity. These can be contained in a brightly
coloured box and offered at times when your child has finished their
activity earlier than their peers or simply needs a change of activity.

Strengthening Activities - examples:

Small squashy ball, which does not spring back into shape
immediately - count the seconds before it regains its shape
Bull-dog clips and pegs
A stress ball
Pop-together beads and threading beads
Lego and multi-link etc.
Plasticine for pinching small bits off and rolling into balls or
snakes
Squeaky squeeze toys
Jumpy frogs, and Tiddly-winks
Picking up small items such as macaroni and putting into bowls,
Unit 6

or fairy cake trays

Cutting practice - special spring-loaded scissors can help
Play dough

8
Unit 6:

c) Developing writing skills

Producing any form of written work is a highly complex task.

Difficulties in short term auditory memory, speech and language
development and the organisation and sequencing of information,
make a considerable impact on the acquisition and development of
writing skills for many children with Downs syndrome.

Particular areas of difficulty are:

1. Sequencing words into grammatically correct sentences,
2. sequencing events and information into the correct order,
3. taking notes and dictation,
4. organising thoughts and relevant information onto paper,
5. completing lengthy written tasks,
6. copying text from the blackboard.

To encourage more independence in the early stages of writing,

provide the child with a writing folder (Fig. 10). This should consist of
a set of cards with Velcro strips, to which flashcards of the words the
child knows are attached. A blank card with strips of Velcro can then
be used to create new sentences using words selected from the
folder or new words written onto blank flashcards.

Ensure pupils are only asked to write about topics which build upon
their experiences and understanding. If the class are being asked to
copy from the board, select and highlight key sentences for the pupil
with Downs syndrome to copy.

Allow pupils who find it hard to copy from the board to copy from a
version of the text placed next to them. Focus on what is essential for
the pupil to record, or use cloze procedure on previously prepared
worksheets that can be stuck into the childs book or folder.

Pace any dictation appropriately. Include repetition and ensure the

vocabulary used is chosen to suit the language ability of the pupil.

Encourage the use of cursive script to aid fluency. Teach upper and
lower case letters simultaneously to aid generalisation.

Use a conversation diary to reinforce the link between reading and

writing. Provide lists of keywords, word banks, word and picture
dictionaries.
Unit 6

9
 Unit 6:
A writing folder
Fig.10
Unit 6

10
Unit 6:
Where the child continues to find writing difficult, try to provide
alternative methods of recording:

1. Worksheets where the pupil underlines or rings the correct answer,

(Fig. 11).
2. worksheets with blanks for the correct words (cloze procedure),
3. sentence or picture cards for the child to put in order,
4. pictures, symbols or flashcards for the pupil to select and paste in,
(Fig. 12).
5. self adhesive stickers with words written on,
6. word stamps with an ink pad,
7. a tape recorder or dictaphone,
8. a word processor with specialist software such as Clicker 4.

Encourage children to work in pairs or groups, enabling the child with

Downs syndrome to dictate their ideas to a peer who acts as a
scribe. Try not to create a situation where the pupil is totally
dependent on their teaching assistant acting as their secretary.

Unit 6

Fig. 11

11
 Unit 6:
Example of writing produced by Year 4 boy, 9 years

d) Strategies for spelling Fig. 12

Spelling is a particular issue which will need to be addressed

independently from that of writing. The use of phonics as an aid to
developing reading and spelling skills can be problematic for children
with Downs syndrome as it requires good hearing, fine discrimination
Unit 6

of sounds and advanced problem solving skills.

12
Unit 6:
Many pupils with Downs syndrome learn to spell words purely by
relying on their visual memory and learning the shape of the word.
However, others will acquire a basic knowledge of letter/sound
correspondence or learn to recite the letter names when writing out a
word.

In developing spelling skills, use words the child can already read.
Teach spellings as visually as possible e.g. using the look-say-copy-
cover-write-check approach. Colour code similar letter groups or
patterns within words. Use muti-sensory methods e.g. finger tracing
over sandpaper letters.

As childrens reading improves, they will begin to associate sounds

with letter strings and patterns. Draw the childs attention to strings
such as ing or tion as they are reading. Make a dictionary using
words the child knows how to spell.

Finger spelling may help some children remember letter names and
letter patterns. Learning to finger spell can be an enjoyable game for
a group of children to play together. Check educational suppliers for
good visual teaching materials e.g vowel and blend snap, ten
minutes a day or wordspell.

Build a word bank using index cards in a box. Group words under
headings e.g. people, animals, school, home, or arrange them
alphabetically but colour code them with pictures representing the
categories at the front of the box.

Colour code lists of keywords required for different subject areas e.g.
green for geography, red for science. Use the same colours for
exercise books and worksheets to aid recall. Unit 6

13
 Unit 6:
Useful reading

1. Alton, S. (2001) Children with Downs syndrome Reading Information

sheet. Downs Syndrome Association.

2. Berger, A. & Gross, J. (2000) Teaching the Literacy Hour in the

Inclusive Classroom. David Fulton Publishers.

3. Bird, G., Beadman, J. & Buckley, S. (2000) Reading and writing

development for children with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome
Issues & Information. DownsEd.

4. Oelwein, P. (1995) Teaching Reading to Children with Down

Syndrome. Woodbine House.

Literacy resources

1. DownsEd, Sarah Duffen Centre, Belmont St., Southsea, Portsmouth,

Hants. PO5 1NA. Tel: 023 9285 5330

2. LDA, Duke St., Wisbech, Cambs. PE13 2AE. Tel: 01945 463441

3. Taskmaster, Morris Rd., Leicester, LE2 6BR. Tel: 0116 2704286

4. Winslow Press, Telford Rd., Bicester, Oxon, OX6 0TS.

Tel: 01869 244644

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.
Unit 6

14
Unit 7: Acquiring Numeracy Skills

a) Mathematical learning

Most children with Downs syndrome encounter difficulties with

mathematics. It is helpful to note, however, that the developmental
stages passed in the acquisition of mathematical concepts appear to
be similar to those passed by typically developing children. If good
teaching methods are applied, there should be few if any plateaux in
learning.

In order to undertake mathematical operations, pupils must attain a

general developmental readiness. They must be competent in
classification, one-to-one correspondence, the cardinal and ordinal
aspects of number, conservation, flexibility and reversibility. Children
with Downs syndrome are likely to be slow in developing these
concepts and may have particular problems with the language of
mathematics e.g. same/different, more/less.

The initial informal stages of mathematical learning are vital to the

development of skills in matching, comparing, sorting, labelling,
mapping and ordering. It is particularly important for children at this
stage to fully understand the concepts same and different. These
are acquired in an unstructured manner, together with language and
conversational skills, through interaction with peers and adults and by
becoming absorbed in day to day activities.

The transition from informal to formal is very gradual. Pupils with

Downs syndrome may encounter difficulty associating informal maths
knowledge with formal school maths. Connections are likely to be
made slowly and sometimes maths may be perceived as a set of
unrelated facts.

Making these connections takes time, a variety of experiences and

carefully directed teaching. Worksheets with pictorial representations
of mathematical facts are semi-abstract and symbolic. If introduced
too early they can confuse the fragile links being formed between
existing concepts.

The use of structured concrete materials is important in securing these

links, not only in the early years but also during concept development
stages in higher level mathematics. Concrete materials can be held,
moved, grouped and separated, allowing pupils to visualise
mathematical processes. This makes them much more real than
pictorial representations alone.
Unit 7

Generalisation and understanding of the abstract nature of maths

requires a considerable length of time with structured, concrete, real
materials, slowly building connections. Gradually the pupil will grasp

1
 Unit 7:
the concept of conservation of number, the realisation that five
objects, regardless of size, shape, colour or arrangement, still count
as five.

Commercially produced materials may be helpful at this stage but

should always be used alongside real objects. Although colourful and
fun to use, materials such as Compare Bears or Peg People are still
in a sense abstract as we do not count such things in real life
situations. Additionally, commercial materials may inhibit learning as
pupils may prefer to play with them rather than using them as a tool for
learning.

However, recent experience suggests that the Numicon materials

trialled at the University of Brighton and available from Downs Ed.
may be of real value to children with Downs syndrome. Numicon is
concerned with how all children learn about numbers and emphasises
the value of using structured visual representations to teach the
relationships between numbers.

Its multi-sensory approach is proving successful because of the ability

of pupils with Downs syndrome to learn by using their visual and
spatial memory. Numicon materials make use of patterns and aim to
develop pupils number concepts by providing information on position,
action, colour and shape (Fig. 1). Children internalise the images of
the number plates to give them a visual image for each number that
will support later numerical operations.
Using Numicon

Fig. 1
Unit 7

2
Unit 7:
Nevertheless, it is important that children realise that there is a real
purpose to the use of mathematics and that it is not just an activity that
takes place in school. It is vital, therefore, to create real situations with
everyday objects to count e.g. giving out pencils or exercise books,
setting the table for lunch or putting straws in bottles of milk.

b) The language of maths

For children with Downs syndrome, competence in number is linked

to their level of knowledge and understanding, not to their syndrome.
Children of similar developmental levels are likely to share the same
level of competence in counting skills and counting principles. Prior
to undertaking any mathematical operation or task, the language
skills and short term memory of the pupil are the first to be put to the
test.

Difficulties in processing language, together with remembering what to

do and in which order, restrict the ability of children with Downs
syndrome to complete mathematical tasks. Calculations and word
problems all require language. Difficulties arise because of:

a) the abstract language of maths, which is unlikely to provide a basis

for understanding; (Fig. 2).

b) the use of symbols to represent numbers and the use of concepts

which cannot be decoded using contextual cues as in reading;

c) the need to recall and use many steps, rules and number facts which
require language.

Limited comprehension inhibits the ability of the child to solve word

problems. As mathematical levels increase, so do the demands
placed on reading and language skills.

Learning to read maths words at the same time as developing

understanding will help the child memorise the key vocabulary.
Similarly, children should be taught to recognise and understand
associated maths terms and symbols.

Ensure the child can match, select, name and understand all
associated words. Teach the language of maths alongside maths
teaching rather than as an afterthought. Personal word lists and
keyword flash cards displayed clearly during tasks and assignments
Unit 7

will help jog the childs memory.

3
 Unit 7:
Maths vocabulary
Using and applying maths:
Results, outcome, check, explain, record, make, test, predict.

Number and algebra:

A lot, all, some, both, another, not any, many, same, more, less, every,
enough, as many as, first, second, third.... last, add, subtract, take away,
guess, estimate, two times, multiply, units, tens, hundreds, odd, even.

Fractions:
Same, different, as big as, smaller than, larger than, greater than, whole,
piece (of the.....), part, complete, halves equal, unequal, quarters, one
quarter, two quarters, three quarters, one half.

Time:
again, now, after, soon, today, before, later, yesterday, early, late
once, tomorrow, twice, quick, slow, first, next, last, days of the week
weeks in a month, months of the year, oclock, half past, quarter past,
quarter to, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years.

Size width, height, length:

big, small, little, fat, thin, long, short, thick, wide, narrow, comparative
and superlative forms of words, as big as , longer than, shorter than, order
compare, all units of measure.

Area, volume, capacity:

a lot, lots, a little, a bit, a small bit, empty, full, much, most, more, more
than, less than, same, and all units of measure.

Weight:
Heavy, light, heavier than, lighter than, heaviest, lightest.

Money:
Coins, how much, how much altogether, cost, price, change.

Shape:
Round, dot, spot, line, circle, rectangle, square, hexagon, pentagon, oval,
triangle, diamond, sphere, cylinder, cuboid, pyramid.

Spatial Relationships:
In, on, under, by, beside, behind, in front of, next to, over, through, inside,
outside, out, to, off, above, below, round, up, down, front, back, left, right
forwards, backwards, top, bottom, middle, first, last, next.

Fig. 2
Unit 7

4
Unit 7:
c) Difficulties associated with learning maths

Difficulties that arise from visual-spatial impairment in some pupils

may mean that they will encounter difficulty when differentiating
between numbers, e.g. 6 and 9, 2 and 5, 17 and 71, and between
operation symbols e.g. + and x, - and =, < and >.

The directional aspect of maths may be problematic e.g. using a

number line, vertical addition, left-right regrouping and alignment of
numbers or writing across the paper in a straight line. The recognition
and understanding of the associated vocabulary should be taught
alongside each, to help reduce confusion.

Some children encounter difficulties with fine and gross motor skills
and may have problems in handling small objects. Consequently they
may not develop concepts through manipulation of objects in loosely
structured exploratory play. Opportunities need to be created in a
structured and progressive way, encouraging pupils to manipulate,
investigate and use concrete materials. Adult intervention may be
necessary to explain what is being discovered and why. This should
then be followed by sufficient practice to consolidate their learning.

Other problems with maths faced by some children with Downs

syndrome include counting past a given number, as the child may have
forgotten the specific number or may not fully understand the cardinal
principle of final tag representations.

Providing a visual prompt to help the child stop at the correct number
can help in the early years (Fig. 3). Ensure the child touches each
item and says the number as they count. Teach that two items are
called two and count one, two emphasising the two. Introduce three
items and then four. If the child is confident, interrupt the count and ask
the pupil to say what the last one will be.

6 5
Fig. 3
Unit 7

5
 Unit 7:
Typically pupils may not be able to:
1. assess whether they have the necessary skills to solve a problem,
2. identify and select appropriate processes,
3. organise information, examine the problem solving process they are
using, make adaptations to the process when necessary,
4. evaluate their answers and identify errors,
5. generalise strategies to different situations.

Pupils with Downs syndrome often have good rote memorising

capabilities. Rote learning enables retention of facts, reduces stress on
short term memory and enables the development and use of
mathematical processes and strategies. However, it is important to
teach understanding prior to memorising basic facts.

Teach children to count on and back from numbers other than 1. Use
coins to teach children to count in 2s, 5s, 10s and 50s, far more useful
in real life than learning their 3 or 4 times tables (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4
Additionally, it is important to consider whether or not concepts have
been adequately covered in previous lessons and whether any
component part has been omitted e.g. it would be inappropriate to
teach long division to a child who has not yet understood the principle
of division as sharing or made the connection between multiplication
and division.
Unit 7

Lack of significant thinking skills compounds problem solving

difficulties. Pupils need to be given opportunities to undertake problem
solving and other maths thinking activities even before they have
mastered computation. Encourage the pupil to:read and understand the
problem, look for the key questions and recognise important words,

6
Unit 7:
select the appropriate operation, write the number sentence (the
equation) and solve it, check their answers, correct any errors.

Help pupils to solve problems by demonstrating and providing a

permanent model i.e. a completed item or task. Verbalise the key
words associated with each step with the permanent model in view.
Instruct the pupil to complete each step while saying the key words out
loud. Finally, allow the pupil to complete subsequent problems on their
own, with the teachers model still available.

Provide adequate experiences with real life materials, time for

exploration and situations where the right answer is irrelevant. Use
careful, accurate and appropriate language. Provide helpful
technologies and convey to the pupil that getting it wrong is a
necessary part of learning.

d) Acquiring basic skills

In planning the maths curriculum for a child with Downs syndrome,

learning outcomes should be feasible and activities and tasks
manageable, within the resources available. They should be relevant to
the childs capabilities and realistic, by providing the appropriate skills
for future needs.

In curriculum planning, neither the childs IQ nor the Downs syndrome

label are of much use in target setting. More relevant to the teacher
are their number vocabulary, their ability to enumerate and their level of
task understanding. Additionally, it is important to bear in mind their
level of self motivation, the quality of tasks and instruction and the
pupils individual and preferred learning style.

You will need to recap and revisit previously covered materials and
teach key mathematical terminology as a specific skill. Use directed
practice together with teacher instruction, followed by independent
practice and positive feedback. During the directed and independent
practice, provide many and varied opportunities to manipulate concrete
materials to assist conceptual understanding.

Consider existing background knowledge. Mathematics depends

heavily on previously learned skills. Consequently, it is important to
ensure that prerequisite skills have been acquired prior to the
introduction of new ones.
Unit 7

Attentiveness during practice is as crucial as the time spent on the

task. Distributed practice, meaning regular practice in small doses, is
particularly beneficial e.g. two ten minute sessions per day are likely
to be better than a two hour session once a week.

7
 Unit 7:
Initially children need to learn that counting involves pointing to objects
individually and giving each a specific and different number name. The
stable order principle, which comes next, involves the realisation that
counting the same set of objects several times will always give the
same result.

In learning the cardinal principle, the child becomes aware that the
final number of a count represents the whole group. Next, the
abstraction principle illustrates that the number of objects in a set will
remain the same however they are arranged. Finally, the order
irrelevant principle involves teaching the child that the number of
objects in a set will remain the same whatever order they are counted
in. (Fig. 5).
Unit 7

Fig. 5

8
Unit 7:
Practical activities to develop these principles should be devised,
progressing along the following sequence:

i) Sorting and matching like objects by colour, size and shape

ii) Rote counting objects from 1-10

iii) Counting up to 10 objects in a row

iv) Associating numerals with the written words, spoken words and
appropriate amounts

v) Selecting up to 5 objects from a set of 10

vi) Matching numerals 1-5

vii) Selecting numeral 1-5 on request

viii) Sequencing numerals 1-5 in correct order

ix) Sequencing amounts 1-5 in correct order

x) Identifying and selecting correct numeral on request

xi) Labelling amounts 1-5 with correct numeral

xii) Copying numerals 1-5 on request

xiii) Repeating items (v) -(xii) using numerals 1-10

xiv) Counting left to right using 1:1 correspondence

xv) Organising materials so they can be counted accurately

xvi) One digit addition e.g. 3+4

xvii) Counting objects to 20

xviii) Subtracting one digit e.g. 4-2

Unit 7

9
 Unit 7:
Useful reading

1. Berger, A., Morris, D. & Portman, J. (2000) Implementing the National

Numeracy Strategy for Pupils with Learning Difficulties. David Fulton
Publishers

2. Bird, G. & Buckley, S. (2000) Number skills development for children

with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Issues & Information.
DownsEd.

3. Delaney, K., Pinel, A. & Smith, D. (1999) Maths Dictionary.

Questions Publishing.

4. Rowley, R., Thornley, M., Forrest, A., Standen, H & Higginson, J.

(2001) Count Us In. Questions Publishing.

Maths resources

1. DownsEd, Sarah Duffen Centre, Belmont St., Southsea, Portsmouth,

Hants. PO5 1NA. Tel: 023 9285 5330

2. LDA, Duke St., Wisbech, Cambs. PE13 2AE. Tel: 01945 463441

3. Numicon Ltd., Unit D, Prospect House, The Hyde Business Park,

Bevendean, Brighton BN2 4JE. Tel: 01273 609991

4. Winslow Press, Telford Rd., Bicester, Oxon, OX6 0TS.

Tel: 01869 244644

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.
Unit 7

10
Unit 8: Behaviour and Social Skills

a) Causes of inappropriate behaviour

Over the years children with Downs syndrome have been described
as typically affectionate and stubborn. They have commonly been
seen as task avoiders and as reliant on familiar routines. While all
these characteristics are undoubtedly found in some young people
with Downs syndrome, they are learned behaviours not an inevitable
part of their syndrome.

Research suggests that the behaviour of children with Downs

syndrome tends to improve with age but that 11-15% will have
persistent behaviour problems through childhood and adolescence.

Some children with Downs syndrome experience high levels of

anxiety. As a consequence they may feel a need to cling to routines
and rituals to bring a sense of predictability to their lives and hence
reduce their anxiety.

Others are affected by autism or attention deficit disorder which will

influence their social development and make them more difficult to
manage than other children with Downs syndrome alone. However,
many of the behaviours characteristic of these conditions are also
found in children with particularly delayed language and cognitive
skills, so care should be taken in diagnosing these conditions.

The most common form of inappropriate behaviour in all children,

including those with Downs syndrome, is behaviour designed to gain
attention. They may be particularly attention seeking because:

They enjoy being the centre of attention and dislike being ignored or
having to wait their turn.

They see others getting what they want by being difficult.

They have been successful in using attention seeking behaviour in

the past to get their own way or avoid work.

Sometimes children will misbehave because they are angry or

frustrated.

They may find that the work they are being given is too difficult, too
easy or just boring.
Unit 8

They may get annoyed when other people dont take the time to
understand what they are trying to say.

They may want to do the same work as everyone else, but an adult
insists they do something different or special, often outside the
classroom.
1
 Unit 8:
Some children may appear to misbehave when they are, in reality,
just confused or uncertain about what they are supposed to do.

They may have failed to understand instructions they have been

given.

They may have forgotten what they have been told.

They may be confused by different adults giving conflicting

messages.

Children in a special school are often subjected to a high level of

structure and supervision. As a result they may feel the need to exert
some control over their lives.

They may refuse to cooperate with their teacher or assistant as a

matter of principle.

They may be difficult if they feel they are given no opportunities to

choose their own activities.

They may feel under pressure and need a break.

Finally, they may be imitating the behaviour of peers.

They may have had few opportunities to observe age-appropriate

behaviours.

They may be copying peers with immature play and social skills.

Immature or inappropriate behaviours may have been ignored or

accepted in the past.

b) Strategies for dealing with behavioural

challenges
Before trying to change a childs behaviour, it is important to observe
them in different settings and at different times, to determine when
the undesirable behaviour occurs and what triggers it off.

Try to work out why the child is doing it and what rewards they are
getting from the behaviour. There is always a reason for behaviours.
They may just be copying others, they may find that other children
laugh at them, they may get out of activities they dislike. Then change
Unit 8

something in the situation so that the behaviour is no longer triggered

and see whether it makes a difference.

Remember that the best way in the long term to minimise a

problem behaviour is to replace it by teaching a more desirable
alternative.
2
 Unit 8:
Never take good behaviour for granted. Always be ready to praise and
encourage the child even if they are doing something that is very
ordinary.

DEALING WITH CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR

DESCRIBE the behaviour very clearly.

Observe the child in different settings
and at different times to determine:
when the behaviour occurs and what
triggers it off.

TRY to guess why the child is doing it

and what rewards they
theyare
aregetting
gettingfrom
from
the behaviour. There is always a reason
for behaviours. Check that they are not
just copying other children.

CHANGE something in the situation so

that the behaviour is no longer triggered.
e.g. change the language you use or
present tasks differently. Rearrange the
room or support the child more.

IF the child appears to be seeking

attention, try to ignore the behaviour
but give the child attention whenever
they behave well. Make sure no one
else gives them inappropriate attention.

ANGER or frustration needs to be

tackled at source. Try to understand
the cause of the anger. Take the
child to a quiet place and give them
time and space to calm down.

CONFUSION is best dealt with by

very consistent handling and clear
instructions. Make sure all adults
treat the child in the same way
both at home and in school.

To reduce attention seeking behaviours:

Give the child attention when they are behaving well.

Unit 8

Try to ignore attention seeking behaviour and encourage peers to do

the same.

Work closely with the parents to ensure that they support the school.

3
 Unit 8:
To reduce frustration:

Ensure tasks are appropriately matched to the childs ability. Use

teaching strategies that build on the childs strengths.

Keep withdrawal sessions to a minimum while encouraging the child

to work co-operatively with peers.

Take time to listen to what the child is trying to tell you. Use a simple
home/school diary to share information with parents or carers (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

To avoid confusion:

Make sure instructions are clear and language is simple enough to

ensure understanding.

Teach the basic rules of behaviour and reinforce them with pictures or
lists on the wall. Remind the child of the rules at regular intervals.

Compare notes with your colleagues and with the parents, to make
sure you are all giving the same message.

To give the child more control over their life:

Unit 8

Make sure they have opportunities to choose, refuse an activity or do

it later.

Keep the child in the classroom for special work whenever possible.

4
Unit 8:
If withdrawal is really necessary, allow them to bring a friend.

Give the child the opportunity to interact with their peers without
continual adult supervision.

To reduce the effects of inappropriate models:

Keep your expectations as high as possible. Expect the child to

behave age-appropriately.

Try to give them regular opportunities to mix with children displaying

age-appropriate behaviours.

Encourage parents to give them age-appropriate experiences.

c) Promoting social inclusion

To promote social inclusion, make sure the child with Downs

syndrome has learned how to behave appropriately in social
situations. They need to understand about rules and routines and be
able to cooperate with their peers.

In group work they must be able to participate and respond

appropriately, without dominating or becoming totally passive. They
need to learn how to share and take turns. Outside, they need to
understand the rules of playground games and what is involved in
being a team member.

In the classroom, successful participation is promoted by ensuring

that the child:

Knows the major routines of the day. A visual timetable can help here
(Fig. 2).

Has learned the class rules.

Can participate appropriately in a small group.

Will respond to requests and instructions from the class teacher.

Can tidy their work and line up appropriately.

Can sit still on the carpet or at a table during class or group

Unit 8

sessions.

Cares for others in the group and is aware of their feelings.

5
 Unit 8:
Example of visual timetable

Fig. 2
Learning appropriate social and self-help skills is a high priority for
most young children with Downs syndrome. However, many will need
extra help and support.

Key skills should be identified and then taught in small steps.

Structured approaches, such as backward chaining - where the child
is taught initially to do just the last part of the task and then works
backwards one step at a time - can be particularly useful.

Picture or photo prompt cards can be helpful, as they show the child
what it looks like to complete the task. Similarly, peers can be used as
role models to demonstrate successful task completion.

Before starting on a toilet training programme, make sure the child is

developmentally ready. Can they retain urine for at least an hour? Do
they tell people when they are wet or soiled? If not, they may not be
ready.

When teaching dressing skills, make sure they are taught at the
appropriate point in the day e.g. coming in from play or changing for
PE. Give the child extra time so they dont feel rushed. If they are
really slow, use a timer and give smiley faces for finishing before the
bell rings.
Unit 8

Encourage lunchtime staff to help the child eat independently but not
to cut everything up or feed them unnecessarily. If they take a packed
lunch, talk to the parents about making sure that it is easy to unwrap.

6
Unit 8:
d ) C a s e s t u d i e s (Nick Logan, Sunfield School)

Louise

Due to the language difficulties encountered by young people with

Downs syndrome, it is often crucially important that they are helped to
overcome problem behaviours with teaching methods which are visually
structured and presented. This was the strategy used with Louise who
when walking through a doorway would often attempt to bang the door
repetitively. If someone held the door to prevent it from banging, she
might become frustrated and attempt to push the person away. When
she was unwell the frequency and intensity of door banging was found to
increase, possibly because of an increased need to gain adult attention
at such times.

A step by step approach was used to teach Louise that it was possible
for her to walk through a door without banging it. The strategy was as
follows:

Visual reminders were placed on both sides of all doors. These

consisted of a photograph of Louise and a large NO symbol on a red
background.

If she attempted to bang the door, an adult would point to the visual
prompt and say "Louise no banging".

If she persisted with door banging, the adult would be encouraged to

turn his/her face away and limit eye contact.

Every time she managed to walk through a door without banging it she
was verbally praised and was allowed to stay with the adult for a
couple of minutes, being given some physical contact if she wanted it.

Gary

In the classroom situation, Gary would sometimes want to opt out of

lessons. His tactics for opting out included falling deliberately off his chair
and lying on the carpet. If someone approached him he would lash out,
trying to slap them or pull their clothes. Once again a step by step
approach was used to teach Gary alternative desirable behaviours. This
was achieved by:

Creating a visual rules schedule which was placed on the wall near
Unit 8

Garys table (Fig. 3).

7
 Unit 8:

Fig. 3

When he was in a cooperative mood, teaching him the four stages of

the schedule using adult demonstration and role play.

When Gary showed the first warning signs of opting out, an adult
would communicate to him the correct behaviour that was required,
pointing to the schedule.

The adult would then give Gary a few seconds waiting time, so that
he could look at the schedule and make a decision about his
behaviour.

If Gary did not comply, the adult would restate what was expected and
Unit 8

point again at the schedule.

Once Gary started to comply, he would be verbally praised. If he

managed to behave appropriately throughout the lesson he earned a
Gold Star for his Star Chart.

8
Unit 8:
James
Like many young people, James does not want to go to bed at the time
agreed by his parents. He refuses to stay in his bedroom, continually
getting out of bed and leaving his room, so that he can ask for drinks and
watch the television. When put back in his room he cries and screams.
The inital response to James behaviours should be to ignore them and
return him to his bedroom. However, this will only succeed if:
No eye contact is given to James.
Words used are kept to a minimum.
No response whatsoever is given to his problem behaviours either by
meeting his demands or by telling him off.
In the longer term, James needs to be taught what alternative behaviours
are expected from him.
When he wakes he should be encouraged to look at a book or listen
to a story tape instead of coming downstairs. He should have a light
he can turn on himself and a supply of appropriate books or tapes at
hand.
When he comes downstairs he should be taken straight back and
given a book or tape. Parents could stay with him for a few minutes to
settle him down then leave him with his book or tape.
Lavish praise should be used when he has gone all night without
coming down.

Useful reading
1. Alton, S. (2001) Children with Downs Syndrome - Information Sheet.
Behaviour. Downs Syndrome Association.
2. Buckley, S., Bird, G. & Sacks, B. (2002) Social Development for
individuals with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Issues &
Information. Down Syndrome Educational Trust.
3. Dodd, S. (1994) Managing Problem Behaviours: A Practical Guide for
Parents and Teachers of Young Children with Special Needs.
Maclennan & Petty.
4. Emerson, E. (2002) Challenging Behaviour: Analysis and Intervention
in People with Severe Intellectual Disabilities. Cambridge University
Press.
5. Flynn, M. & Flynn, P. (1998) Thinking about having a learning
disability. Belitha Press.
Unit 8

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.

9
Unit 10: ICT, Computers as an aid to
learning

a) The importance of ICT

ICT offers such a wide range of opportunities to children with complex
special needs that there is quite reasonably an expectation that children with
Downs syndrome will have access to assistive technology. This can range
from switch activated speech devices to interactive curriculum material in
most subject areas. While it is impossible to cover every eventuality in this
section we shall highlight important sources of information. We will refer to
the much more extensive resources that have been developed for staff
working with children with severe and complex special educational needs,
developed by a consortium of specialists and voluntary organisations*.

For young children there are many resources available to assist them
accessing ICT in classroom activities (Fig. 1). Simple cause and effect
software encourages interaction in a fun and motivating way. It can often
encourage reluctant learners to gain skills in using the computer and other
devices, which will offer them access to a wide range of learning and leisure
opportunities throughout their school life and beyond.

As well as selecting appropriate resources, it is important to consider the

location and positioning of equipment to maximise access for many learners.
Organising computer desktops and basic functions, such as the visibility of
the pointer on the screen and the speed at which it moves, will be vital
preparation for many users on a standard computer system. (Fig. 2). For
children with more complex difficulties refer to the section on organising
resources on the website:
http://www.inclusive.net/resources/units/unitb/unitb_contents.shtml

Early speech and language skills can be encouraged using the signing and
picture support available in interactive software. This can range from simple
word recognition to developing two-and three-word phrases before
embarking on reading schemes that are supported with spoken and written
text. Recording events and creative writing can be enhanced with the
production of interactive material, diaries and talking stories created using
framework programmes such as Clicker or Powerpoint (Fig. 3), helping to
utilise the childs strengths as a visual learner. Simpler options are available
for those with greater difficulty with text and writing in the literacy and
recording section:
http://www.inclusive.net/resources/units/unit2/unit2_contents.shtml

Children with particular difficulty with expressive language can use aids such
as a BIG mack (Fig. 4) to take part in spoken activities. The use of picture
support and other communication devices is explored in
http://www.inclusive.net/resources/units/unit4/unit4_contents.shtml
Simple software using a microphone attached to the computer can be used
to encourage productive language.

A consortium of organisations including the Downs Syndrome Association,

Unit 10

the RNIB and CENMAC developed training resources, examples of good

practice and activities to develop ICT skills for teachers and support staff in
special schools, between Jan 2000 and 2003. All the scenarios and
suggested activities for training are available from the ICTS website
http://www.inclusive.net/resources/resources.shtml

1
 Unit 10:
Fig.1
Access devices.

(Fig. 2) Making windows work for you

Accessing Computers with children.

Although using a Easy-Ball or other access device may be useful to break up the task of
using the mouse into smaller learning steps, a child will probably need to learn how to use
the standard mouse in order to be able to use the computers in school and the ever
increasing number of places that we now find them.

The modern Windows computer has some functions that can greatly assist a child, without
the need for separate devices and added expense. It is possible to :

1. Increase the size of the pointer to make it easier to see

2. Slow down the speed at which the pointer moves on or off its target, when the mouse is
moved.
3. Change the speed at which the button has to be pressed to click and double-click.

These changes can be made in the following way on all Windows 95/98/2000 home
computers.
Inside the folder on your screen marked MY COMPUTER is a file called CONTROL
PANEL. If you open that file you will see a range of icons (pictures) most of which are best
left alone unless you are familiar with them.
Unit 10

2
Unit 10:
Switches and overlay keyboards can help when you are working on the
same activity with a group of pupils with very differing abilities. These
devices have improved dramatically in terms of ease of use and reliability
over the last few years as have touch screen monitors. (Fig. 1) shows
some of the most widely used devices. Suggestions for group activities are
explored in
http://www.inclusive.net/resources/units/unit6/unit6_contents.shtml

It should be remembered that while the use of assistive input devices is

increasingly common in the classroom, pupils will rarely find any of these in
settings beyond school. Pupils will still need to develop mouse and
keyboard skills for accessing the range of ICT in the community and as an
aid to independence at home. Keyboarding skills could routinely be an IEP
target for literacy and independence.

As networks and internet connection speeds continue to improve, children

of all abilities will be able to access information, education and leisure
resources on the worldwide web. At both primary and secondary level
children should be given opportunities to explore their interests and discover
information via the internet. Setting up browser options and shortcuts to
relevant websites is an important aid to pupils who may need guidance and
practice at net surfing. Popular websites include the obvious Disney and
BBC and ITV television sites as well as those discussing issues around
television soaps and sports personalities. Schools should obviously have
policies in place for filters and security and many of these issues are well
discussed and documented on SENCO and SENIT forums (See Section b).
Increasingly, students will be able to use relevant curriculum materials on-
line as more content becomes available through the National Grid For
Learning http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/ and regional bodies such as the Northern
Grid For Learning http://www.northerngrid.org/ngfl/index.cfm

.
Unit 10

3
 Unit 10:
Fig. 3

Making interactive diaries

and projects in powerpoint

Fig 3

Fig. 4

BIGmack single message

speech device.

Fig. 5 Literacy and recording support

A look, cover and type exercise, with either on screen
keyboard or standard keyboard input.
First Keys uses many exercises to help with literacy and
learn keyboard skills, and can make personalised word
lists to work from.
Unit 10

Recording a visit or
personal diary in
SwitchIt! Maker

4
Unit 10:
b) Networking and finding resources
There is an expectation that any teacher and most support staff will have an
understanding of and have practical ICT skills to a level that is expected of
an NQT (newly qualified teacher). They should be able to use a word
processor for the creation of documents and to create proformas (templates)
for administration and recording purposes. This should include producing
frames and tables and the manipulation of text and pictures. In addition, the
use of a digital camera to personalise work and the ability to seek
information on the worldwide web are important for developing materials in
the classroom and for professional development. Many schools now have
their own website which is developed with the pupils and maintained with a
special awareness of the accessibility issues relevant to the student group.
Web reference
http://www.inclusive.net/resources/units/unita/unita_9.shtml

Unit 1a ICT curriculum planning document, manipulating text and tables

Unit 10

5
 Unit 10:
Networking with colleagues and finding information
There are a number of useful forums and mailing lists for exploring and
discovering practical advice on using ICT with children with Special Educational
Needs. Mailing lists operate through e-mail, so if you would like to join in the
discussions you will need to join or subscribe to the mailing lists you are
interested in. Although there is no cost to join, you will need some time to
manage and read your e-mail.

The process:

1. You join or subscribe to a list by sending instructions to an automated

address (software will process your message as opposed to a person)
2. You may receive an automated message confirming that you have been
successful in joining the list
3. You receive another automated message with instructions on how to use the
list
4. You receive any messages sent to the list's address by other members
5. You can send a message to the list address asking for information/advice etc
6. The message is automatically redistributed to everyone else on the list
7. Members may send an individual reply to you or to the whole list.

If you haven't used mailing lists before, then before you start sending messages
you may like to read some of the messages sent by others over a two-week
period. This will give you an idea about the sorts of discussions taking place
and the formality or otherwise of the list.

For details of different SEN on-line discussion groups including SENIT, SENCO
and SLD Forum see: http://www.becta.org.uk/inclusion/discussion/bectalists.html
Having access to a forum or discussion group can save a great deal of time and
energy and offer an almost limitless access to experienced and expert
individuals working in the SEN field. Sharing practice and networking with
colleagues can greatly assist looking for disability specific resources and good
practice.

c) Organising resources
Special schools and units are likely to have acute awareness of the issues of
how and where any ICT equipment is used. There should be an effective ICT
development plan which takes into account not only health and safety issues
but comfort and accessibility. The way in which the equipment is positioned
and the way that folders and shortcuts are displayed on the screen will make
a huge difference to how effectively students and staff can access the
resources and activities. Options for the way in which the mouse and
keyboard operate can be set to maximise participation (see Fig. 2).
Unit 10

6
Unit 10:
d) Literacy and recording
Children with Downs syndrome will benefit from ICT activities presented with
text, speech and visual clues. These can range from early language
activities based on whole-word sight vocabulary and two-and three-word
talking stories through to the whole range of software supported reading
schemes like the Oxford Reading Tree. Working with word processors that
can offer spoken support to the text and the selective use of picture or
symbol support for new vocabulary will enhance the reading and recording
process. While the majority of children with Downs syndrome will work
effectively in this way using straightforward text for reading and recording,
some will have greater difficulty and may need to rely more on picture and
symbol support (Fig. 5). Balancing the use of symbol supported text for
those for whom it is required, and allowing progressing readers to
concentrate on their strength with text requires planning and individual
assessment. More details for those for whom symbol support is appropriate
can be found at:
http://www.inclusive.net/resources/resources.shtml

e) Language and communication

ICT can play a vital role in the acquisition of language skills and offer a
variety of alternatives for those with profound language difficulty. It is
possible to provide aids for individual pupils according to individual needs,
ranging from simple language and reading aids, to develop reading and
spoken language, to full alternative augmentative communication aids where
necessary. Pupils can join in activities requiring spoken language with
something as simple as using a BIG mack (Fig. 4) to make a simple
statement, or by touching a screen to activate a spoken response from a grid
created in Clicker or Inclusive Writer.

Unit 10

7
 Unit 10:
Fig. 6 Suitable Software for under - 7s with
Downs Syndrome

All about Numbers (Semerc) Scally (Topologika)

Animated Numbers
(Sherston)
Beetles (Brilliant)
Blob for Windows (Widgit)
Choose IT (Inclusive
Technology)
Clicker4 (Crick)
Counting Songs (e-Soft)
Dazzle Plus (Semerc)
Hands-on Concepts Story
Kits (Inclusive Technology)
Leaps and Bounds
(Semerc)
Face Paint (Brilliant)
Intellipics (Inclusive
Technology)
Jemima (Topologika)
Jigsaw (Topologika)
Kaleidoscope2 (Inclusive
Technology)
Living Books with Intellitools
(Inclusive Technology)
Microworlds (Semerc)
Millies Math House
(Inclusive Technology)
My World (Scion)
Naughty Stories (Sherston)
Unit 10
Smart Alex (Brilliant)
Speaking for myself
(Topologika)
Spider and Friends (Inclusive
Technology)
Spider in the Kitchen
(Inclusive Technology)
SumOne (Resource)
SwitchIT (Inclusive
Technology)
Tizzys Toybox (Sherston)
Touch Games (Semerc)
Writing with Synbols
(Widgit)
SUGGESTED STARTER KIT
Speaking for myself
Jemima
My world for Windows
Clicker4
A Number Program
A Painting Program
A Music Program
Judith Stansfield
SEN ICT CONSULTANT

8
Unit 10:
f: Useful addresses of software suppliers
Inclusive Technology Topologika Software Ltd
Gatehead Business Pk. Harbour Village
Delph PENRYN
OL3 5BX Cornwall
Tel: 01457 819790 TR10 8LR
inclusive@inclusive.co.uk United Kingdom
http://www/inclusive.co.uk Tel: 01326 377771
info@topologika.com
http://www.topologika.com
Semerc (Brilliant)
Granada Learning Ltd. Rickett Educational Media
Granada Television R-E-M
Quay St. Great Western House
Manchester Langport
M60 9EA Somerset
Tel: 0161 827 2927 TA10 9NA
info@granada-learning.com Tel: 01458 254700
http://www.semerc.com info@r-e-m.co.uk
http://www.r-e-m.co.uk
Widgit Software
124 Cambridge Science Park DSET
Milton Road Sarah Duffen Centre
Cambridge Belmont Street
CB4 0ZS Southsea
Tel: 01223 425558 PO5 1NA
www.widgit.com Tel: 02392 855330
info@widget.co.uk info@downsed.org
http://www.downsed.org
Crick Software
35 Charter Gate Resource Education
Quarry Park Close 51 High Street
Moulton Park Kegworth
Northampton Derby
NN3 6QB DE74 2DA
Tel: 01604 671691 Tel: 01509 672222
info@cricksoft.com ws@resourcekt.co.uk
http://wwwcricksoft.com http://www.resourcekt.co.uk

Sherston Software Limited Don Johnston Software

Angel House 18/19 Clarenden Ct.
Unit 10

Sherston Calver Rd
Near Malmesbury Winwick Quay
Wiltshire Warrington
SN16 0LH WA2 8QP
Tel: 01666 843200 Tel: 01925 256500
info@sherston.co.uk dwhyman@donjohnston.com
http://www.sherston.co.uk http://www.donjohnston.com
9
 Unit 10:
e: Useful websites for further information
Some websites dealing with Downs syndrome issues
The Down's Syndrome Association Website with links to national and international
organisations http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk
Down's Syndrome - Your Questions Answered
http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/pdfs/Your%20Qs%20answered.pdf
The Down's Syndrome Association Education Area
http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/DSA infEducation.aspx
Including Pupils with Down's Syndrome in Primary Education
http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/pdfs DSA%20A4%2012pp%20Primary.pdf
Including Pupils with Down's Syndrome in Secondary Education
http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/pdfsDSA%20A4%2012pp%20Secondary.pdf
Downright is an independent organisation based in the North West, working in
close collaboration with the Downs Syndrome Association and the Down
Syndrome Educational Trust; http://www.downright.co.uk/
Down Syndrome Educational Trust - the website offers advice and information for
parents and professionals caring for individuals with Downs Syndrome and offers
research findings and a catalogue of teaching resources.
www.downsnet.org/downsed

Some websites dealing with inclusion issues

Alliance for Inclusive Education - a website that describes this organisation's
campaign for inclusion www.btinternet.com/~allfie
Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE) Inclusion page- advice and
information on the work of the CSIE in promoting inclusive education.
www.inclusion.uwe.ac.uk
Enabling Education Network (EENET) - an information sharing network aiming to
support and encourage inclusion. www.eenet.org.uk
ISEC 2000 - a website that gives information about the International Special
Education Congress in Manchester July 2000 www.isec2000.org.uk
UNESCO Salamanca Statement - text of the inclusive education framework
adopted at the 1994 Salamanca conference.
www.unesco.org/education/educprog/sne

Some websites with curriculum resources

Northern Grid for learning offer SEN resources: www.northerngrid.org
Advisory Unit: Computers in Education - this company's website has a Concept
Keyboard Exchange with free downloadable resources to use with their Concept
Plus program www.advisory-unit.org.uk
BBC On Line Education - starting point for resources and links to other websites
www.bbc.co.uk/education
Channel 4 Learning - on-line support for Channel 4 School television programmes
www.4learning.co.uk/index.cfm
Creative Communicating - ideas and resources for children with disabilities
www.creative-comm.com
Unit 10

Crick Software - this company's site has free downloadable resources on their
Clicker Grids for Learning page for users of the Clicker program.
www.cricksoft.com
EduWeb - Curriculum support site from RM, parts of which are free
www.eduweb.co.uk
IntelliTools - this company's site has a free Activity Exchange where resources
made with their products can be downloaded www.intellitools.com

10
Unit 10:
continued
Quest - allows pupils to explore items from the Natural History Museum by
clicking on pictures and symbols www.nhm.ac.uk/education/quest2/english

Key stage one maths resources www.dfee.org/flash.html

Some websites for general professional development in SEN

BECTa (The British Educational Communications and Technology agency) -
information on ways of using ICT in education. www.becta.org.uk
BECTa Special Needs and Inclusion area - lots of information about using ICT
to support learners with special needs, including links to the archives of useful
mailing lists www.becta.org.uk/inclusion/index.html
David Fulton Publishers - specialise in books about teaching special education.
www.fultonbooks.co.uk
DfEE Special Needs- information on legislation, organisations and projects.
www.dfee.gov.uk/sen
Education Unlimited - news items and articles on educational topics on this
website developed by the Guardian/Observer newspapers.
www.educationunlimited.co.uk
Inclusion - a free, searchable catalogue of on-line resources to support
teaching professionals, parents and carers in meeting individual learning needs.
www.inclusion.ngfl.gov.uk

Inclusive Technology - this company's website has useful information pages on

topics of interest to teachers of children with special educational needs.
www.inclusive.co.uk
Mailbase - a directory of discussion lists primarily for the UK higher education
community. www.mailbase.ac.uk
National Association for Special Educational Needs - the NASEN website gives
information about its activities. www.nasen.org.uk
National Grid for Learning - a collection of resources brought together by the
UK Government. The Schools area has a Special Needs section.
www.ngfl.gov.uk
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority - an overview of curriculum,
assessment and qualifications. www.qca.org.uk
Questions Publishing On-line - this website has a search facility that enables
you to find articles published in Question's group of journals, as well as
descriptions of relevant books. www.education-quest.com
Teacher Training Agency - the special educational needs section gives
information on the latest government policies regarding the training of teachers
in SEN. www.teach-tta.gov.uk/sen/index.htm
Times Educational Supplement - an on-line version of the educational
newspaper. www.tes.co.uk
Widgit Software - the special needs section of this company's website has lots
of useful information. www.widgit.co.uk
Unit 10

Downs Syndrome Association 2003

All rights reserved

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for educational purposes so
long as the source is acknowledged.
Commercial reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome Association.

11
 Unit 10:
Fig . 7 Essential Software
ICT the essential list.
Pre-school /early years:
Cognitive software using space
bar and return Keys-e.g..
Switch suite (Inclusive technology)
Blob (WIDGIT)
Early reading and language
Speaking for myself (Topologika)
Jemima songs and rhymes
(Inclusive Technology)
Mouse use/training
Foundation mouse skills (E-soft)
Living books (Bronderbund)
Leaps and Bounds (Semerc)
Primary/secondary:
Talking wordprocessor
First word (RM)
Pages (SEMERC)
Talk Write (Resource)
Textease (Softease)
Inclusive writer (Inclusive
Technology)
+ Curriculum based clip art
On Screen Worksheets
Inclusive Writer (inclusive
Technology)
Clicker (Crick)
Wordbar (Crick)
Reading Support
Living books (Bronderbund)
Talking books (Sherston)
Wellington Square (SEMERC)
Planet Wobble (Crick)
Spelling
Starspell 2000 (Fisher Mariott)
Wordshark (White Space)
Sounds and Rhymes (Xavier)
Gamz2 (Inclusive Technology)
Memory training
Mastering memory (Calsc)
Numeracy
Unit 10
Numbershark (White Space)
Number tiles (Topologika)
Talking mathsbook (Topologika)
Keyboard Training
First Keys (Widgit)
Type to learn (TAG)
Speedy keys (Semerc)
Older Learners
Out and About (Semerc)
Computers in school and children
with Downs Syndrome.
The importance of using
computers is growing for all
children. Children with Downs
Syndrome working in mainstream
classrooms or in special provision
should have access to tried and
tested curriculum software for use
in most subject areas.
The essential list gives guidance on
the types of software that will be of
most value, and should already be
available in any well-resourced SEN
department. Where they are not
available in school they can be
accessed through the learning
support teams in most areas.
Alongside this a well-resourced
SEN department will have access
to a scanner and digital camera to
personalise work and individualise
materials.
When schools are planning and
allocating budgets, remember that
the software is equally as
important as the hardware and
include the costs of paper and
upgrading software as better
versions become available. Try to
get to at least one education
computer exhibition and use the
free demonstration software
available from most suppliers in
order to evaluate new software as it
comes on to the market.
Teachers and LSAs will
undoubtedly need to use some of
their own time to develop their own
ICT skills, but this is likely to be a
very good investment in their own,
as well as their childrens future.
Although particular pieces of
software will run effectively on old
computers, children with Downs
syndrome and other learning
difficulties benefit more from fast
multimedia systems. These should
be available in classrooms and not
just in Computer Suites.
12
Appendix 1a: Examples of Individual Education
Plans - see Unit 3

Kingfisher School IEP

Appendix 1

1
 Appendix 1b:
Kingfisher School IEP
Scientific Enquiry!
To investigate and use a range of scientific activities and investigations
Appendix 1

2
Appendix 1b:

Appendix 1

3
Appendix 1 Appendix 1b:

4
Appendix 1b:

Appendix 1

5
Appendix 1

B....... School Individual Education Plan

Pupil: Beth M Date: November 2002

Support Services Support Staff

Hospital Downs Service Dr Clarke
Speech and Language Sally Smith
Educational Psychologist Lara Murphy
Appendix 1c:

Specialist Equipment Medication

6
Suitable height table and chair None

Setting Support
Integrated Nursery 1 full time teacher
Class of 16 special needs pupils 2 learning support assistants
Group of up to 8 pupils per session Attendance
Also attends a local pre-school at W....... 4 sessions
 B....... School Individual Education Plan
Pupil: Beth M Date: November 2002

Beths attendance at school has been erratic due to health, family commitments
and calendar dates therefore she hasnt had consistent input for the harder
concepts on this IEP.
Area of Learning: Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
Appendix 1c:

Priority Targets Action/ Criteria Outcome

To independently choose and

7
work at 3 different activities
during the morning.
To take self to the toilet with
only verbal prompt.
To independently hang her
painting apron on a hook when
finished with.
When activity is chosen, adult to Achieved though may still need
ensure that she spends at least verbally prompting when finished
3 minutes working at it-may need one activity to move to next-May
showing what to do. 2003.
May need support in pulling down Achieved-no accidents in nursery
leggings or tights. for weeks-March 2003.
May need support in finding the Achieved but needs refining to
apron hook. use the hook on apron as often
just placed on and falls-May
2003.

Appendix 1
Appendix 1

Area of Learning: Communication, Language and Literacy

Priority/Targets Action/Criteria Outcome

To understand the following verbs. Monday am Language group using teddies Achieved climbing, digging but
(1 word DLS) running, clapping, drawing, and supporting with pictures. inconsistent with clapping, drawing,
climbing, throwing, digging. running, throwing when using assorted
pictures/photos-June 2003.

To copy or say the above verbs in a When working encourage Beth to Making attempts to copy verbs but
Appendix 1c:

formal situation. repeat the verbs eg look Beth hes very difficult to hear what she is
running, oh whats he doing-hes saying as so quiet spoken-May 2003.

8
To consistently perform activities at 1 to 1 DLS activities and within the More consistency but not 100%-
a 2 word level DLS. classroom at activities as see DLS assessment-May 2003.
appropriate.

To become familiar with the concepts Using strongly contrasting objects to Ongoing, participates but still has
of big versus little. illustrate the difference. little awareness-May 2003.

To begin to copy or use the big and Adult to model and give praise when Achieved by copying-May 2003.
little eg big car. Beth attempts.
 Area of Learning: Mathematical Development.
Priority/Targets Action/Criteria Outcome
To match 12 cards that have busy Pictures that are more than a single Achieved using animal lotto
pictures. image and have a variety of colours. games-June 2003.

To separate big and little objects.
Ensure that the difference is very
clear. Initially use familiar objects
then progress to unfamiliar objects.
Keep language use limited and
emphasise big and little.
Ongoing, separating randomly, has not
yet recognised the criteria for the
sorting. Is copying vocabulary-
May 2003.
Appendix 1c:

To separate triangles/ circles/squares. Use 2 plant trays. Adult to seed trays Achieved-May 2003.

9
with Beth (hand over hand). Adult to
hand Beth objects 1 by 1 to place
correctly Beth, look triangle here
+ pointing. Also use 2 posting boxes
for continuity.
To name circle Adult to model name at any opportunity Has just started to do this
that arises eg sorting, cutting shape, independently_May 2003.
drawing.
To rote count to 3 Adult to model name at any opportunity Achieved by copying-May 2003.
that arises eg counting real objects,
items in a book.

Appendix 1
Appendix 1

Area of Learning: Knowledge and Understanding of the World.

Priority Targets Action/ Criteria Outcome
To consistently and appropriately Use programmes, Switch it Build, Achieved-May 2003.
press yellow jelly switch to operate
Happy Duck, First Look Things.
programme.

To become familiar with moving large Use programmes, Touch stars, Touch Achieved using mouse but not able
cursor. balloons. to drag and place-June 2003.
Appendix 1c:

Area of Learning: Physical Development

10
Priority Targets Action/ Criteria Outcome
To independently hold and cut a piece Needs an adult sitting next to her to Ongoing, some progress but tends to
of card in 2 using snips. maintain safety. resort to pulling and ripping-June 2003.

To position hand in scissors and make Initially use 2 person scissors that Ongoing, can do if supported by
an open and shut movement. allow adult to assist in movements. adult-June 2003.

We will be working on:

Beth participating independently in general classroom activities-she must spend plenty of time with peers not
just working individually on IEP.
Makaton Signing to be consistently used by staff and by Beth.
Appendix 1d:

Appendix 1

11
 Appendix 1e:
Mill Ford School Individual Education Plan

Pupil - Dominic P.......

Teacher: M. B. Term: Summer 2003

Appendix 1

12
Appendix 1f:

Appendix 1

13
Appendix 2: Examples of Curriculum Mapping
- see Unit 3

Appendix 2

The Downs Syndrome Association would like to thank Anne Hutchinson from
Hedgewood School Middlesex, for kindly allowing them to publish examples of
her Curriculum maps.

1
Appendix 2 Appendix 2:

2
Appendix 2:

Appendix 2

3
Appendix 2 Appendix 2:

4
Appendix 2:

Appendix 2

5
Appendix 2 Appendix 2:

6
Appendix 2:

Appendix 2

7
Appendix 2 Appendix 2:

8
Appendix 2:

Appendix 2

9
Appendix 2 Appendix 2:

10
Appendix 2:

Appendix 2

11
Appendix 2 Appendix 2:

12
Appendix 2:

Appendix 2

13
Appendix 2 Appendix 2:

14
Appendix 3: Programme for Developing Gross Motor skills in
children with Downs syndrome. - see Unit 4

a) Programmes Aims:

1. To break the national curriculum in P.E. into achievable objectives for lower
abilities.
2. To focus that curricular area to meet childrens needs in each P.E. subject
(gymnastics, ball skills, dance etc.).
3. To cover all areas of psychomotor difficulties, and to work systematically in
order to build a solid motor foundation.
4. To continue to engage in brain gym activities to develop gross motor
coordination, cognitive skills and spatial awareness.
5. To improve the childrens self awareness, sense of capabilities and the
overall confidence in themselves and others.
7. To teach the children social skills and responsibility for themselves and
others.
8. To introduce different motor activities and different types of sport, that will
encourage the children to be more active in their free time.

b) Methods of teaching P.E. for children with Downs syndrome

1. Use music as much as possible.

2. In order to develop stamina, control weight and work on the cardiovascular
system, introduce short running and jumping games at the beginning of each
lesson.
3. Make the rules very short and clear, to help avoid behavioural problems and
stubbornness.
4. Minimise auditory and visual distractions.
5. Speak clearly and keep your sentences short.
6. Use demonstration alongside words. Visual processing for children with
Downs syndrome is normally faster than auditory processing, and will help
them to understand and to respond faster.
7. Use non-verbal communication tools: pictures, cards, small objects, facial
and body gestures, alongside a special sign language (signalong), to
emphasise your spoken words and ideas.
8. Keep a persistent lesson structure (introduction on the bench, warm up with
music, main part and closing part), that will make the children feel safe, and
will leave you the freedom within, to introduce new activities and equipment.
9. Try to encourage the children to use their imagination to help them with
problem solving (use stories and drama in P.E.).
10. Let them succeed and praise them in public for special achievements. That
will build their self-esteem, as well as emphasise their abilities rather than,
disabilities.
Appendix 3

1
 Appendix 3:
c) Motor Development Activities

The six crucial areas of motor development to which the activities are applied
are:

1. Body awareness,
2. Spatial awareness,
3. Balance,
4. Rhythm and movement control,
5. Co-ordination,
6. Basic skills.

1. Activities that will promote body awareness

General ideas

1. Sing head, shoulders, knees and toes (eyes open & closed).
2. Touch and name body parts (eyes open & closed).
3. Simon says (eyes open & closed).
4. Draw around your friends body and then swap (look at yourself in the mirror
and try to paint your image).
5. Copy movements (the mirror game).
6. Finger, face and body paint.
7. Working in small groups (3-4 children) around a big warm water bowl using
small cups wet different body parts with eyes open & closed (can be done
in hot weather outside).
8. Same as 7, but using shaving foam (consider possible allergic reactions).

Dance and movement

1. Teach the children simple dances, using as many body parts as possible
e.g. the hokey-cokey.
2. Work with scarves and music throwing, and catching the scarf on different
body parts.
3. Creative dance, using body parts to describe levels high, middle, low, fast-
slow, big-small etc.

Small apparatus (hoops, bean bags, newspapers, balloons, skipping ropes)

1. Try to move with the equipment on different body parts.

2. Bounce/roll/spin/fold the equipment with as many body parts as possible.
3. Try to work with a partner with 2 pieces of equipment on the same body
part, each time one child tells the other child what to do e.g. bounce the
Appendix 3

balloon with your elbow.

Soft apparatus and small trampoline

1. Running games with music: when the music stops, put different body parts
on the soft apparatus/trampolines.
2. Form a track (using the soft apparatus/trampolines) and walk through it,
using as many, or as few, body parts as possible.
3. Trampoline (work in 3 small groups, each group around a trampoline)

2
Appendix 3:
4. Put different body parts on the trampoline.
5. Find different ways to move body parts on it (hit with hands, bounce on
bottom legs on floor, balance on knees, sit on the floor stamp heels
etc.).

Ball skills

1. Big yellow ball place different body parts on it, bounce against it, use
different body parts to move the ball in as many ways as possible.
2. Running games with music: when the music stops: put different body parts
on the ball, pass to a friend with different body parts, etc.
3. Work with a partner one is standing and calling names of body parts, and
the other child tries to hit that part with a soft ball.

2. Activities that will promote spatial awareness

Chairs

1. Find the empty chair - sitting in a circle, one child stands in the middle.
Everyone needs to move from chair to chair and the child in the middle
needs to find an empty chair and sit on it. (Promotes visual tracking and
visual discrimination).

2. Changing chairs - Sitting in a circle. The teacher gives each child

a number (1,2,3), and after making sure that they remember, calls out
the numbers. The children need to stand up and swap places.
(Promotes visual discrimination).

3. Musical chairs - (promotes visual and auditory discrimination).

4. Where is the frog? (1) - The teacher gets a chair and a frog, then places
the frog relative to the chair (on, under, behind, next to, above) and asks
the children, "Where is it?" (Promotes the use of positional language).

5. Where is the frog (2) - Each child gets a chair and a frog. The teacher tells
the children where the frog needs to be (on, under, above, next to, behind-
try not to model). The children will have to find the right place. (Promotes
understanding of positional language).

Directions

1. Find the cube - The children close their eyes and the teacher places a
brightly coloured cube somewhere in the room. When the teacher is ready,
7 3

the children go to look for it. If they see the cube they need to go back to
their chair without saying anything. The teacher can help by saying: go
Appendix

forward, go backward, to your left, to your right. (Promotes visual

discrimination and use of positional language).

2. Monkeys Do - The children stand in a line facing the teacher, and need to
copy her movements (left, right (sideways), forward, backward).
Unit

(Promotes visual tracking and positional language).

3
 Appendix 3:
3. The pictures game - The teacher place 4 different pictures on 4 different
walls of the classroom. The children need to face the right picture according
to the teachers word (sun, tree, lion, frog).

* Advanced version - The children need to face, or stand with their back to
the pictures. (Promotes visual memory and discrimination).

4. Stand in a line - The teacher gives instructions to the children to:

Stand in a circle.
Stand in a queue.
Stand in a line (one next to another).
Stand behind me in a queue.
Stand beside me in a line.
Stand in front of me in a queue.
(Promotes visual memory and tracking and teamwork).

5. Left and Right - The children walk around the room and turn left or right
according to the teacher instructions. (Might need a sticker on the right
hand). (Promotes the use of left and right).

General

1. Ball skills - All ball skills involve visual tracking and discrimination (throwing
and catching, target throwing, rolling and catching, bouncing, kicking and
stopping, target kicking).

2. Tracks - Make any kind of track, using different objects (cones, hoops,
skipping ropes, benches, chairs, hurdles), and let the children walk through
them. Make them use the positional language (I am going through the hoop,
on the bench, under the chair).

Hoops

1. In and out - The children standing inside a hoop, then need to place
themselves, or move, according to the instructions. (in, out, over - across,
on, around, up, down). (Promotes understanding of positional language).

2. Find your house - The hoops are spread on the floor and the children stand
inside them. When the teacher claps the children run between the hoops,
without touching them. When the teacher claps again, everyone needs to
go back to his or her houses (you can use music for stopping and starting).

3. Harder version - The children stand in the hoops and the teacher
Appendix 3

tells them which house they are going to visit, everyone runs around, and
when the teacher claps, the children need to go and visit the chosen house.
(Promotes visual memory and discrimination).

4. Musical hoops - The same as musical chairs but the hoops are spread
around the room. When the music stops, each child needs to stand in a
hoop. As the game goes on, the number of hoops goes down and the
children need to share the hoops. (Promotes visual discrimination and
group work).

4
Appendix 3:
5. Line of hoops - A line of hoops is placed on the floor. The children
need to:
Walk through the line of hoops, placing only one foot in each hoop.
Jump from hoop to hoop with two feet together.
Walk backwards from hoop to hoop.
Walk on the hoops.
Hop from hoop to hoop, first on one leg, then on the other.
(Promotes inner rhythm, legs co-ordination and visual discrimination).

3. Activities that will promote balance

Beanbags

1. Balance beanbag on: head, arm, back, belly, leg, foot, and travel.
2. Balance beanbag on head, standing on one foot, with eyes closed.
3. Place beanbag on foot, kick it and try to catch it. (If easy, try to stay on one
foot when catching it).
4. Throw the beanbag and catch it on your: back, arm, head, leg, foot.
5. See games 1-6 in movement games.
6. Balance beanbag on different body parts when travelling on various
surfaces: bench, beam, and soft apparatus.
7. Stand in a circle on one foot; say the name of a child and throw the bag to
him.
8. Stand opposite your friend and try to give him your beanbag, using feet only.

Bench

1. Ways of travelling: walk forwards, backwards, sideways, on all fours, belly

crawling, back crawling, two feet jumping, one foot hopping, skipping,
turning, jumping from side to side.
2. Ways of balancing: one foot, hand and foot, bottom, belly, knees, tip toes,
kneel down and come up.
3. Lie on the bench on your belly sideways, keep hands and feet off the floor,
try to spin to your back and back to your belly.
4. Walk on the bench and over soft sticks held 10 cm above the bench.

Balance with a partner

1. Stand back to back and try to go down and kneel, and come up again.
2. Sit on the floor. Put your feet in the air and touch your friends feet.
3. Perform cycling movement and slowly try to take your hands off the floor.
4. Walk on a bench (one start from each side) and try to change places without
falling off.
7 3

Newspapers (no shoes on)

Appendix

1. Walk on the edge of the newspaper.

2. Jump over it.
3. Tear the paper, using feet only.
4. Wrap your legs with newspapers and sellotape. Try to walk across the hall
Unit

and then jump, without tearing the paper.

5
 Appendix 3:
Jumping and landing

Let the children jump from different heights. Make sure they jump and land on
two feet with knees bent, and only then go to straight standing position. Use the
soft mats and stand from the side when guarding.

General balancing activities

1. Swing and balance on a big ball on your bottom and belly.

2. Balance, rock and spin on a balancing board.
3. Trampoline activities.
4. Make a balancing trail, using different objects and different heights. Let the
children walk through it.
5. Relay races:
o Balance beanbag on different body parts.
o Balance tennis ball on a racket.
o Walk on all fours on a bench and roll a ball with one hand.
o Walk on a curved beam.

4. Activities that will promote rhythm and movement control

With music

1. When the music starts, practice different types of movement:

walking/running/skipping/galloping/hopping/crab walking/all four walking/on
toes/on heels/on the outside of the foot/spinning etc. (backwards and
forwards). When the music stops - freeze.
2. March to marching music and stop/clap your hands.
3. Listen to the music (march), and play the tambourine.

With a row of hoops

1. Jump with two feet together/clap after each jump (jump, clap, jump, clap).
2. Jump with two feet together and walk (one foot in each hoop).
3. Run or walk backwards (one foot in each hoop).

On the trampoline

1. Side to side jumps/forwards and backwards jumps.

2. Jump to the rhythm of the tambourine/marching music.
3. Jump from a high surface onto the trampoline and off to a soft mat.

Ball skills
Appendix 3

1. Roll/dribble a ball on a line on the floor.

2. Roll the ball from hand to hand/around your body, while sitting.
3. Roll the ball in & out your legs, making a lazy 8 movement.
4. Bounce a ball without stopping.
5. The teacher shows a number, and the children need to bounce that
number.

6
Appendix 3:
Skipping ropes

1. Here comes the snake: everybody stands on a circle. The teacher stands
in the middle and spins a long rope. The children need to jump over it
when it comes close to their legs. If the rope hit someones legs he goes
in to spin.
2. Skip forwards and backwards.
3. Run and skip forwards and backwards.

5. Activities that will promote co-ordination

Skipping ropes

1. Hold a rope in each hand & copy the teachers actions:

Side to side (two arms to the same side).
Open and close arms.
Spin the ropes backwards and forwards.
2 snakes on the floor.
One arm up & the other one down (change).

2. Put 2 ropes on the floor:

Walk between the two ropes, forwards & backwards.
Jump with two feet together between the two ropes, forwards &
backwards.
Balance walking on the two ropes at the same time, forwards &
backwards.
Open & close jumps - forwards & backwards:
Open = 2 ropes between legs.
Close = 2 legs between ropes.

Jump over one rope from side to side, and do the same over the second
rope (also try forwards & backwards).

3. Thread a small rubber hoop on each rope and tie the two ends together to
form stilts. Hold the ropes, put your legs in the hoops and:
Walk/Jump forwards & backwards.
Lift your legs high forwards & backwards and sideways.
Open & close and open & cross jumps.

4. Teach the children to skip with the skipping rope.

Walk over the rope and spin it forward (first step).
Jumping over the rope and spin it forwards (second step).
When confident, teach them to run and skip (third step).
7 3

Do everything when spinning the rope backward (fourth step).

Appendix

Gymnastic

1. Work on 3 soft mats:

Roll sideways (arms above your head or to the side of your body).
Crawl backwards and forwards.
Unit

Crawl on your tummy (like a snake).

Jump with two feet together from side to side.
Crab walk, backwards, forwards & sideways.
7
 Appendix 3:
2. Try to use 2 and 3 ways of travelling to go on the mats.
3. Try and teach the children cartwheels.

Dance

Teach the children simple dances:

The birdy dance (beak (hands), wings (arms), body, 4 hands clap - then let
them fly in the room).
Lets hop: 2 kicks to the right, 2 kicks to the left, jump forward, jump
backwards, 3 jumps forwards.
All aerobic activities with music will improve co-ordination.

Trampoline

1. Sit around the trampoline and work on bilateral co-ordination of hands:

Hit the trampoline with two hands at the same time.
Play on the trampoline with your fingers and try to make rain sound.
Hand going: up & down, around in circles, open & close, open & cross.
2. Bounce on the trampoline:
From side to side.
Forwards & backwards.
Open & close or Open & cross jumps.

Balls

1. Put bouncy balls in small rubber hoops and spread them around the hall.
When the music starts - run in the hall (try different ways of moving quickly/
running)
When the music stops:
Spin the ball.
Roll the ball from hand to hand.
Throw & catch.
Dribble the ball with your feet.
Bounce the ball.
Head & catch.
Spin the ball around your body, while walking.

2. Try all above, with a partner.

3. Work with 2 tennis balls (very hard):

Roll on the floor, using two hands.
Dribble with two feet.
Throw & catch the two balls at the same time.
Appendix 3

Pass & catch the two balls (hand - hand).

3. Teach the children ball and bat skills like hockey or tennis.

4. Stations work:
In & out the cones in different ways.
Ball between 2 long ropes (move it in different ways without touching the
ropes.
Throw into the basket.
Bowling.
8
Appendix 3:
Bounce the ball while walking on a bench.
Roll the ball on a walking beam or a bench.
Roll the ball through the big soft cylinder and catch it on the other side.

Climbing frame

Work on the climbing frame. Focus on movement of hand and legs

simultaneously and in opposition when climbing.

Soft apparatus

Form a track, using the apparatus, soft mats and benches and let the children
move through it in different ways.

6. Activities that will promote basic skills

Locomotion

1. Walk/run on different parts of your foot: tip toes, heels, the outsides &
insides of your feet (use music).
2. The animal game - Choose different ways of animal movements and use
different music instruments to distinguish between them. Let the children
listen and perform.
Ideas:
Slow beat on the African drum = elephant = big slow steps + one arm as
a trunk.
Fast beat on the African drum = tiger = fast running.
Bells= birds = running on tiptoes and "fly" with arms.
Rhythm sticks (2 fast beats) = horse = galloping.
Tambourine = kangaroo = jump with two feet together.
Big cowbell = cow = walk on two feet and two hands.
Rain stick = crab = crab walk forwards, backwards, sideways.
3. Relay races - use different ways of movement: walking backwards, cross
walk, galloping, crab walk, two feet jumps (inside a sack), crawling (on
mats) etc.
4. Trampoline - stand 3 mini round trampolines on a line of mats (the
trampolines will have to touch). Let the children bounce from one trampoline
to another and then perform good landing (knees bent and then straight) on
the mat.
To make the jumping more challenging, stand a jumping horse close to the
first trampoline and tell the children how many jumps to perform on each
trampoline (the same number or different - 2:2:2, 1:2:3, 1:1:1, 3:1:2).
5. Athletics:
7 3

Relay - Take the children to the football court outside, stand them
around it in gaps, give the first child a relay stick (baton) and teach them
Appendix

to wait for the baton, run and give it to the next person.
Long-distance jump - Take the children out to the grass and use rulers in
order to teach them how to step on the wooden board and then to jump
as far as they can. (Each child will need two rulers, one to step on, and
one to land on. If the child is landing over the ruler he should take the
Unit

ruler further away).

Short distance running - Mark 50 meters running track and let them race
against each other and against the clock. Teach them to keep on
9
 Appendix 3:
running after the finishing line, and to make that line more visible, use
white tape and let one child help you to hold it. Let go of the tape when
the first child touches it. (It is advisable to run on grass in case of falling).

6. Climbing and sliding - Take the children to the park (choose a good one,
with slides and climbing frames) and let them explore.

Manipulation

Teach the children different ball games:

1. Basketball - If you dont have baskets, you can stand two children inside
hoops and they will be your living basket and will have to catch the ball.
2. Football - try to play with different ball sizes, try to have more than 2 goals
(each team can score anywhere they want).
3. Mini volleyball - (instead of hitting, you have to catch and throw the ball
over the net). The ball can bounce once on the floor before catching it.
You cannot move when holding the ball and will have to pass the ball to
a member of your team that is closer to the net.
4. Teach the children bat games like tennis or table-tennis. If they are
beginners, use small bats and balloons. They can play with a partner and in
a small team (4 children) over a bench.
When teaching table-tennis, start to play while sitting in front of the wall, in
order to learn how to regulate force. The next step will be to sit in front of a
partner and try to play (let the ball bounce on the floor once).
The last step will be to use the schools dinner tables (mark the middle line
with a white tape) and play the game.

Stability

1. Balance activities (see balancing ideas).

2. Rolling - teach the children to roll sideways on the mat, inside a soft
cylinder, and forwards and backwards (let them hold a beanbag under their
chin while rolling). It is very important that children are rolling on the back of
their neck, and not on their head. (It is important to check in the childrens
record for any history of Atlanto-axial dislocation).

3. Swinging - use climbing ropes to teach the children different ways of

swinging:
"Tarzan" swing - put 2 jumping horses in a distance, to form trees. Tell
the children to stand on a "tree", sit on the knot in the rope, swing and
stop on the next "tree".
For less able children, tie two climbing ropes together to form a swing.
Teach them to use legs and body movements to swing themselves.
Appendix 3

Hanging ladder - if you have one, tell the children to climb and sit on
one of the rungs and swing them.
(When swinging or climbing remember to instruct the children to hold on
tight).
4. Floating - any activities in the water will promote floating.

10
Appendix 3:
d) Additional programme (morning gross motor)

Morning gross motor

Morning gross motor is an essential extension to the gross motor programme.

When talking about any learning, we have to take into account the childs
readiness for different inputs. Through coordinative focused movements, we
hope to tune the brain, as well as calm the children and prepare them for any
specific mental, social and emotional challenge.

When teaching through movement, we are helping our pupils to comprehend

important aspects of language such as: positional language (on, in, under),
directions (left, right, forward, backwards), comparative language (fast-slow,
high-low, as well as fast-faster-fastest), and so on.

In order to achieve our main objective we have to run a suitable activity for 15
minutes every morning, and consistently stick to the same activity for at least
one week. Its always recommended to come back to the activity after a few
weeks and to check if the motor planning, co-ordination and speed of
performance improves.

Morning gross motor Objectives:

1. To warm the childrens body and mind, and to prepare them for effective
learning in class.
2. To develop the childrens co-ordination, body and spatial awareness, motor
planning and fluency of movement.
3. To create a solid link between the learning in the classroom and the gross
motor programme, in order to support and complement one another.
4. To give all members of staff the opportunity to be actively involved and to
gain a better understanding of the childrens motor difficulties.
5. To help and build the childrens confidence and their sense of ability, rather
than disability.
6. To start each morning with a smile.

Activities

Clapping

This will develop: eye contact, bilateral co-ordination, visual memory, movement
flow, motor planning.

Equipment: A circle of chairs.

7 3

Tasks:
Appendix

Clap different body parts (hands, feet, elbows, toes, heels, legs). Dont worry
about rhythm at this stage.

One-step pattern:
1. Clap hands.
Unit

2. Slap thighs.
3. Stamp feet
(Change the speed).

11
 Appendix 3:
Two-step pattern:
1. Clap hands-slap thighs.
2. Clap hands-tap shoulders.
3. Clap hands-stamp feet.

Two-step pattern with repetitive action:

1. Clap hands twice-slap thighs twice.
2. Clap hands three times- stamp feet three times.

Three-step pattern:
1. Clap hands-slap thighs-stamp feet.
2. Stamp feet-clap hands-hands on head.
3. Stamp heels-stamp toes-clap hands.

Right and left (take turns):

1. Clap-slap right hand on right thigh-clap-slap left hand on left thigh.
2. Clap-slap right hand on right thigh-slap left hand on left thigh-clap.
3. The same as 1 & 2, but stamp your feet instead of slap thighs.

Crossing the midline:

1. Clap-cross arms & slap thighs.
2. Clap-slap left hand on right thigh-clap-slap right hand on left thigh.
3. Clap-open feet apart-clap-close feet together.
4. Clap-open feet apart-clap-cross feet alternately.

Partner hand clapping:

1. Clap-slap partners hands.
2. Clap twice-slap partners hands twice.
3. Clap-slap partners hands-slap own thighs.
4. Clap-slap partners left hand with your right-clap-slap partners right hand
with your left.
5. Clap-slap partners left hand with your left-clap-slap partners right hand
with your right.
6. Try to perform the tasks (1-5) with your feet.

* Run the activity every morning for a week (or longer if the children need
more practice).
* Choose the right starting point and speed of progression for your class.
* Come back to the same activity a few weeks later, to see if the children
retain the motor knowledge.

Lolly sticks

The activity will develop: bilateral fingers and toes co-ordination, balance,
Appendix 3

motor planning, hand-eye co-ordination, and rhythm.

Equipment: A wooden Lolly stick for each child.

Tasks:

Warm up - walking/running/jumping/skipping/open-close jumps/open-cross

jumps/scissors jumps, on the spot (music can be used). When the music
stops, balance the stick on different body parts: head, nose, ear, one finger
(try different ones), leg (standing on one leg), foot, back of neck, arm, back
etc.
12
Appendix 3:
The flying stick - Place the stick on table/chair with one end overhanging. Tap
the end of the stick in order to flip it over, and then try to catch it. (Try the
same exercise, but flick the stick instead).
Fingers passing - Hold the stick between the index finger and the middle
one. Pass the stick to the other hand and hold it between the same fingers.
Try to pass and hold with different fingers (only two fingers at the same time).
Try with eyes closed.
Fingers passing around the body - Try to pass the stick around your
body/head/leg, whilst holding it with only two fingers (choose different ones)
at the same time.
Try with eyes closed.
Lets make music - Try to play the passing game, but before passing, tap
with the stick on the table/chair. Try different finger combinations, speeds and
beats.
Group passing - Sit in a circle and try to pass a stick around, while holding it
between two fingers. (Use a few sticks and change directions and finger
combinations).
Toes passing - Take your shoes and socks off. Place the stick between the
big and the second toes and hold it. Now open your legs, close them, and
without hands, try to pass the stick and hold it between the big and second
toes of the other foot. Keep opening and closing your legs and try to pass the
stick between different toes. Try with eyes closed.

Morning gross motor Lets Balance

The activity will develop: static and dynamic balance, bilateral co-ordination,
movement flow, motor planning and midline crossing.

Equipment: 2-4 skipping ropes, a ruler for each child.

Tasks:

1. Place two skipping ropes on the floor and form a long line: (If you have more
than 6 children, make two lines).
Walk on the rope forwards, sideways and backwards.
Side to side jumps over the rope (forwards and backwards).
Cross walk over the rope (forwards and backwards).
Side to side hop on one foot (and try the other foot).
2. Stand on one foot and try to count to ten without placing the other foot on the
floor. Now try the other foot. (Try with eyes closed).
3. The same as 2 but this time try to swing the leg thats in the air forwards and
backwards without falling.
4. Give each child a ruler to put on the floor:
7 3

Place two feet on the ruler and try to stand in the position whilst counting to
ten (try with eyes closed).
Appendix

Stand on two feet and try to jump over the ruler and land on one foot.
Stand on one foot and try to jump over the ruler and land on two feet.
5. Group 3 children together and place their rulers on the floor.
Jump over the rulers in different ways:
Walk/run over the rulers.
Unit

Hop on one foot.

Jump with two feet together.

13
 Appendix 3:
One foot, two feet, one foot, two feet.
One foot x 2, two feet x 2.
Two feet x 2, One foot x 2.

* If you dont have space in your class for the last activity, use the corridor
or group the children into bigger groups.

e) Summary

The gross motor programme has been originally developed in order to

accommodate the special needs of the children I am teaching, and to make the
objectives of the national curriculum in P.E. relevant to them. The programme
has been run by myself, with great help and co-operation from all the staff at
Hedgewood School for the second year, and the "Morning gross motor
programme" for 2 terms.

The children love the lessons and the morning activities, although they dont
always find them easy. They are showing significant progress not only in their
motor abilities and skills, but in other academic aspects as well.

My idea of good practice involves making the lesson challenging but not too
hard, interesting but not too busy, and above all, keep in a very tight structure
that allows me to work on other important areas such as challenging behaviour,
social skills, and self esteem, while making it fun, fun and more fun for
everyone.

In a new era of inclusion we always have to remember that differentiation plays

a crucial role in that reality, and in order to fulfil our duty as educators, we have
to remain relevant to all our pupils, meet their needs and help them to achieve.
I hope you will find the gross motor chapter helpful, and will use some of its
ideas in your P.E. lessons.

Yifat Skehan

Any part of this publication may be reproduced and distributed free for
educational purposes so long as the source is acknowledged. Commercial
reproduction requires the written permission of the Downs Syndrome
Association.
Appendix 2

14
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