Post by jelanismom on May 1, 2008 18:22:32 GMT -5
I want to add an interesting find concerning behavior. It's already obvious what it states, but I appreciated the wording and want to share. This is the link and I'll copy and paste...
www.altonweb.com/cs/downsyndrome/index.htm?page=primaryeducation.html
Behaviour
There are no behaviour problems unique to children with Down's syndrome. However, much of their behaviour will be related to their level of development. So, when problems occur, they are generally similar to those seen in typically developing children of a younger age.
In addition, children with Down's syndrome have grown up having to cope with more difficulties than many of their peers. Much of what they are expected to do in their everyday lives will have been much harder to accomplish due to problems with their speech and language, auditory short-term memory, motor co-ordination, shorter concentration span, and learning difficulties. The thresholds that trigger problem behaviours may therefore be lower than with their typically developing peers, i.e. they are likely to become frustrated or anxious more easily. Therefore, a child's having Down's syndrome does not lead inevitably to behavioural problems; but the nature of the difficulty makes them more vulnerable to the development of behaviour problems.
A particular aspect of problem behaviour is the use of avoidance strategies. Research has shown that, like many pupils with special needs, pupils with Down's syndrome tend to adopt such strategies, which undermine the progress of their learning. Some pupils tend to use social behaviours to distract adult attention and avoid learning and seem prepared to work only on tasks which fall within a very narrowly defined cognitive range.
It is important to remain alive to the possibility of avoidance, to separate immature behaviour from deliberately bad behaviour, and to ensure that the child's developmental, not chronological, age is taken into account, together with their level of oral understanding.
www.altonweb.com/cs/downsyndrome/index.htm?page=primaryeducation.html
Behaviour
There are no behaviour problems unique to children with Down's syndrome. However, much of their behaviour will be related to their level of development. So, when problems occur, they are generally similar to those seen in typically developing children of a younger age.
In addition, children with Down's syndrome have grown up having to cope with more difficulties than many of their peers. Much of what they are expected to do in their everyday lives will have been much harder to accomplish due to problems with their speech and language, auditory short-term memory, motor co-ordination, shorter concentration span, and learning difficulties. The thresholds that trigger problem behaviours may therefore be lower than with their typically developing peers, i.e. they are likely to become frustrated or anxious more easily. Therefore, a child's having Down's syndrome does not lead inevitably to behavioural problems; but the nature of the difficulty makes them more vulnerable to the development of behaviour problems.
A particular aspect of problem behaviour is the use of avoidance strategies. Research has shown that, like many pupils with special needs, pupils with Down's syndrome tend to adopt such strategies, which undermine the progress of their learning. Some pupils tend to use social behaviours to distract adult attention and avoid learning and seem prepared to work only on tasks which fall within a very narrowly defined cognitive range.
It is important to remain alive to the possibility of avoidance, to separate immature behaviour from deliberately bad behaviour, and to ensure that the child's developmental, not chronological, age is taken into account, together with their level of oral understanding.