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10 Bright Stars
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Joined: Nov 16 2006
Location: Virginia
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| Posted: Dec 11 2012 at 8:50pm | IP Logged
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Hi all,
As usual, you all are my "go to" resource for information! I just got a call from a high school friend who had a child with Downs about a year and a half ago. She called to ask me about homeschooling resources for children with Downs, and if I knew anything about that? I must admit I do not, but told her of several families that I will contant who are all Catholic families with a Downs Syndrome child, and I was going to ask them about it and see if they plan on homeschooling (one family does homeschool their children) and what help they can offer. But, I thought perhaps someone on this board has a child with Downs or knows of the options available for children with Downs? She did not want to send him to the special ed classes at school because she has been a substitute teacher at public schools and was knocked down by children in a PE class, on purpose, among other bad experiences, and she also subsituted for a special ed class. While the teachers there were very nice and probably trying their best, she said that the Downs girl in the class was allowed to just sit there and lick toys and even doorknobs throughout the day, without much more stimulation, and it just broke her heart, and this was before she even had a child with Downs herself! She is also interested in becoming a local Special Olympics coordinator for our area. Anyway, her son with Downs is very highly functioning, and she really wants the best for him. He is only a little guy still, but she wants to research this as much as possible and she does not know of many other families with Down Syndrome children as they are becoming "extinct" as she put it, due to abortion. She is not a Catholic homeschooler, but I could instantly think of many good Catholic families to contant and speak to for her, but do any of you all have children that you homeschool with Down's and if so, what advice should I give her, and do you know of any resources or does anyone have any ideas I should pursue for her? Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated. His name is Justice, and he is a real cutie! I also thought of contacting HEAV, our state homeschool organization to see if they had any resources or info. Any other thoughts or ideas??? Thanks!!! 
Oh, and my friend DID attempt to homeschool her two older children in the past without success, but she is determined to keep her DS son home with her, and really wants to succeed with this!
Kim
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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jjmpfu
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| Posted: Dec 12 2012 at 12:41am | IP Logged
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Hi Kim,
Our youngest has Down syndrome so I will try and pass on as much as I can, although I know there is alot more available. She is 2 so we haven't really started to do much formal work only some research.
There is a very usefull Yahoo group specific for homeschooling families with Down syndrome children. I would first direct her to that site. It is called homeschoolinganddownsyndrome.
There is also a great product called Love and Learning that is directed specifically to teach reading skills to children with Down syndrome. I haven't tried it but I have heard good results with that program. There is also Reading Eggs, Starfall, How to Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons, and even CHC with some modification to fit individual needs. These are just a few I have heard work really well. I haven't tried any of those though.
We have been doing mostly sight reading as she is a visual learner for sure! There is also a website where you can print sight words and lessons for children with Downs syndrome. Here is the link. I hope it works ok http://dsfoc.org/learning_program.htm It is called the Learning Program by the Down Syndrome Foundation of Orange County. We have done some with this and it seems really good. We also just started Brill kids and she is interested in it but not really fully participating.
We also encourage sign language and she does really well with that. We use Signing Times dvd's.
I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as curriculum available. Hope it helps though as a starting point. The National Down syndrome Society would also be a good point for reference as well.
Take care and I wish your friend well!
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10 Bright Stars
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Joined: Nov 16 2006
Location: Virginia
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Posts: 728
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| Posted: Dec 12 2012 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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Thank you so much for your informative response! I will pass all of this info. along to my friend!!
God bless!
Kim
__________________
Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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MaryM
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Joined: Feb 11 2005
Location: Colorado
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Posts: 13104
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| Posted: Dec 12 2012 at 2:36pm | IP Logged
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Kimberlee (who is registered here but hasn't logged in in quite some time) has great support and resources on her blog - Pondered in My Heart.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Home education and Downs Syndrome
