Do people with Down syndrome need speech therapy?

Benefits of Physical Therapy for Down Syndrome. Physical Therapy: Physical therapists assisting individuals with Down syndrome increase strength, coordination, and endurance needed to achieve gross motor milestones such as sitting, crawling and walking.

How can a speech therapist help a child with Down syndrome?

A child with Down’s Syndrome may be able to understand more than they are able to express. Our Speech and Language Therapists can help to increase their ability to express what they are feeling by increasing their vocabulary and developing a language programme that works on their expressive language and syntax skills.

When should a child with Down syndrome start speech therapy?

Children between the ages of 5 and 11-years require the active intervention of an SLP along with support from their families. Therapy for children with Down syndrome in this case should consist of a plan that targets all four areas– speech, grammar, vocabulary, and communication skills.

How can I improve my Down syndrome speech?

Keep talking Remember to speak clearly and to encourage eye-contact with children with Down syndrome. They need to be looking and listening. They will also be helped by visual cues in sign or picture. Remember also that background noise will make listening much more difficult for them if they have any hearing loss.

Can people with Down syndrome speak clearly?

Most people with Down syndrome find it difficult to speak clearly enough to always be understood by everyone around them. These communication difficulties can present obstacles to learning, friendships, employment and independence.

What are three physical issues that can lead to speech problems for people with Down syndrome?

Children with DS have anatomical and physiological differences in the mouth and throat region that affect feeding, swallowing, and oral motor skills. They also often have hypotonia, or poor muscle tone in the mouth area.

What kind of medical assistance is needed for a child with Down syndrome?

Most children with Down syndrome need speech therapy and physical therapy. Teens and adults with Down syndrome may need occupational therapy to learn job skills and learn how to live on their own. If there are social and emotional issues, counseling may help.

Why does Down syndrome affect speech?

Oral-motor skills Speech production of individuals with Down syndrome may be related to differences in oral structure and function (Miller & Leddy, 1998; Stoel-Gammon, 1997). Structural differences include a small oral cavity with a relatively large tongue and a narrow, high arched palate.

How does having Down syndrome affect motor skills?

Children with Down Syndrome are usually delayed in all areas of their development, e.g. gross and fine motor skills, communication and learning. If learning and understanding are very delayed, this affects how a child learns to move from one position to another and causes a delay in physical skills as well.

Why do Down syndrome people struggle to talk?

Factors that can contribute to speech intelligibility problems include: a small oral cavity, articulation problems with specific sounds, low oral-facial muscle tone, difficulty with sensory processing and oral tactile feedback and difficulties in motor planning for speech.

How does a child with Down syndrome communicate?

Good early communication skills – Most children with Down syndrome are eager to communicate and their early non-verbal communication skills are good. These include making eye-contact, taking turns in babble games, developing joint attention, and using gestures.

Can delayed speech be resolved?

Delays in language Simple speech delays are sometimes temporary. They may resolve on their own or with a little extra help from family. It’s important to encourage your child to “talk” to you with gestures or sounds and for you to spend lots of time playing with, reading to, and talking with your infant or toddler.

How effective is speech therapy?

The answer is yes speech therapy is effective. Speech treatment involves breath prolongation, slowing down the speed of speech and reducing psychology from the mind.

What age should you start speech therapy?

In some cases, autism can be identified as early 10 to 12 months of age. It is very important to start speech therapy as early as possible, when it can have the greatest impact. Intensive, individualized treatment can help lessen the disabling isolation that may result from this social communication disability.

What do you need to know about speech therapy?

Your child should be able to perform simple social interactions including: Responding to parents with smiles and cooing (0 to 3 months) Making sounds and performing small actions with hands

Your child has not said their first word by 15 months.

You are having some difficulty with understanding what your child is saying.