Hi there!

I am currently teaching at home in Samut Prakarn and was asked to teach an 8 y/o girl with Down Syndrome. I have been teaching for 6 years now and have a good deal of experience in teaching young learners and have run into "children with dis-abilities" in schools. I am very well aware that they need lots more attention than a "regular" 8 y/o.

I've always been interrested in teaching children with disabilities and am doing this for free at the moment, but i have never been teaching a child with DS in private. Is there anyone out there who can give me some advice?

What i know now is that:

- Possible problem with hearing and vision (short- or long sighted)

- Problems with short term memory.

- VERY easily distracted

- Need to feel equal

Does anyone have experience in teaching DS children?

Hope to hear from you

Not worked with DS kids but you may find some useful stuff here;

http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/

http://www.up-for-reading.org/down-syndrome/reading/

http://www.down-syndrome.org/information/number/childhood/

No experience but just wanted to give you some luv for taking an interest in helping others.

sound like you do a good deed

Hi, that must be interesting to do ... good job and good luck for you.

hmm you teach a special child then, in Pyschology Education we call those children, special... From my Education Psychology class, it's not easy job... the special child always have problem with there emotion too, be careful then ... so some school which has special child / children in class always have more than one teacher. I'm not sure if i still have a book about special child psychology (I've done report about it) I'm not good at it actually cuz my field is in Adult learning pyschology.

Ah! Just wrote an essay for you and my internet got cut off...

Main points basically said be patient. You need a lot of patience for this. If you see a tiny improvement, focus on that for a whole session if you have to. Throw a freaking party.

Start the first couple of sessions with games or anything else that she likes. She needs to see you and think "fun guy." Talk to her parents or whoever spends the most time with her and find out what she loves and what she hates...love and hate the same things when you are with her.

Basically...be really patient. Your minds do not think alike, and you must keep that in mind at all times. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Thanks for your responses, i haven't replied for a few days due to being TOO BUSY Have lots of kids to teach...

Japamerican, would love to read your essay! Can I?

I'll let you know how things progress...

I am thinking of using the textbook Little Bugs... It has lots of activities like making your own flashcards, minibooks, cutting, glueing, etc etc...

http://www.macmillanenglish.com/younglearners/bugs/index.asp