Physical Development

As it is the case with many people with Down syndrome, Scotty has low muscle tone and loose joints. These two characteristics have affected his physical development greatly, and even though he has successfully reached many milestones, it has been only after a lot of effort.
     His first huge success was at the age of 6 months, when he was able to remain sitting without support. When he was 14 months old he could sit up from a lying down position and started crawling commando style (using his elbows and with his legs outstretched. When he was about 18 months old he was able to support himself on his feet while leaning on the wall (back to the wall). A few weeks later he was able to pull himself up to stand and remain standing by holding on to something. He took his first few steps when he was about 26 months old (a little over 2 years). And he has been a whirlwind of activity ever since.
     Scotty learned to swim when he was 3 years old. He took some classes, but he has mostly learned by watching his mom swim. He is a fish in the water, can hold his breath quite long and loves to dive to the bottom of the pool (9 feet).
     He also enjoys other physical activities like jumping on the trampoline, dancing, running, climbing and playing soccer.
     When he started to run he ran like a little puppet, but as he grows his muscles develop and strengthen and he has gained some grace.
     Scotty is now 9 years old, since he turned 8 he has been able to participate in Special Olympics. He practices at school and competes with his school. So far he has participated in Bowling, two basketball events and one track meet.
Return to top of page

Speech Development

     Scotty has been diagnosed with severe Apraxia of Speech. He babbles (a lot) using all kinds of sounds, but when it comes to putting sounds together to form a word he can't. He tries to repeat most of what we say, unfortunately for the most part is not very intelligible. Apraxia of speech means that his brain can't make the muscles needed for speech move on command. However, he does very well using pictures and visual cues for communications. He also is very resourceful at getting his point across. He uses some signs, but it is difficult for him to coordinate his arms and fingers to do the signs correctly (motor Apraxia).
     Although Scott's speech is practically non existent he continues to progress. He now says a few phrases that are almost intelligible.
     Scotty receives speech therapy at school and an hour a week of out-of-school speech therapy, which has been ongoing since he was 5 months old.
Return to top of page

Self-help Development

     Scotty has always had an independent personality. He accepts help only until he is able to do something by himself. He has never been afraid to try his independence.
     Scotty started putting on his own socks when he was 1 year old, even before his typical peers. By the time he was 3 he was putting on his own shoes and clothes.
      He can now make his own lunch (and pack it for school) and has tried to cook all by himself (mom is very scared). He can put on any of his movies or video games and change the TV to the right channel (dad still gets confused). He can work his stereo and mom and dad's stereo - mom and dad are not happy. He is very observant and has learned mostly by imitation.
     He now has several chores at home, like taking out the trash, bringing in the mail and feeding the dogs. He earns money for these chores, and even though he doesn't know the value of the money yet, he knows he can buy stuff with it!
Return to top of page

Social Development

     Scotty is very social, and has been since he was little. He enjoys playing with other kids and also visiting with adults.
     He is still at the stage of parallel play with other kids, this is probably due to his communication problems, he rather imitate and engage in physical activities. With adults he behaves well.      He has always been able to establish a connection with other people and most who meet him and get to know him truly love him for the person he is.
     At school he enjoys spending time with his typical peers as well as with his classmates (he attends a self-contained classroom and is mainstreamed for some of the day).
     He has a best friend who also has Down syndrome, his name is Casey. Casey is a year and a half older than Scotty and more advanced developmentally but they love each other and are "best buds".
Return to top of page

Educational Development

Scotty started his academic career at a co-op preschool when he was 2 1/2 years old. He was fully included with typical peers, and he loved going to school. When he was 3 years old we transferred him to the public school developmental preschool. When he started kindergarten he started fully included, unfortunately our district is not very experienced in inclusion and have been unwilling to make the necessary accommodations so over the years Scotty has been included less and less in the typical classroom.
Scotty knows to count to 30 and is learning to add (conceptually). He is also learning to read some sight words. To help him with his reading I made him a book that has pictures of him and simple sentences like "I am Scott, I like to swim ". He is also learning to write. Another one of his challenges is that he is left-handed, and thus some of his letters are made backwards (starting at the end) and also flipped (like mirror images), surprisingly enough he does not mix the "b" and the "d". He knows the name of all the letters, but I don't think he understands that they also have a sound. He cuts and colors well, and he is somewhat of an artist when it comes to drawing. He also enjoys painting and gluing. One of his favorite toys is the magna-doodle.
Return to top of page