The lack of qualified therapists and trained resource persons in schools are among the many challenges faced by children with Down Syndrome, chairperson of Down Syndrome Association of Tamil Nadu, Dr Rekha Ramachandran said here on Wednesday.
Speaking to City Express on the sidelines of the All India Workshop on Intervention of Language, Cognition and Literacy in Children with Down Syndrome, Rekha said that schools lacked trained resource persons to handle children with Down Syndrome, a genetic condition that restricts the way the brain and body develop.
“The biggest challenge faced by these children is acceptance in schools. Although the situation has improved with awareness, parents are still searching for right help. Increase in social and family acceptance and inclusive education is not implemented,” she said.
One in 750 children in the State are born with Down Syndrome and nearly 90 per cent of the children are born with cardiac diseases and many develop thyroid problems. “If these problems are not checked at an early stage, the child gets disinterested,” she cautioned.
D Sabitha, State School Education Secretary, said that the State had 150 children with Down Syndrome and underlined that the government was trying to identify the children and help them join the mainstream.
“The State has adequate teachers who are helping to improve the quality of life for people with Down Syndrome.”
Julie Hughes, consultant, Down Syndrome Association, United Kingdom said children with Down Syndrome remembered things more easily when presented visually. The vocabulary learning among these children is delayed possibly due to difficulty with storing sound patterns and poor auditory memory, she noted.
Pointing out that 85 per cent of children with Down Syndrome were affected by glue ear, she underscored that a teacher should ‘get the visual attention of the child before starting to speak.’
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