Just became aware of this - awesome!
The new Ministry of Education website includes a section specifically about students with Down syndrome: http://inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/down-syndrome-and-learning/
Loads of good info, links and resources about what Down syndrome is and specific challenges that may be encountered in the learning environment.
I will go and have a good old browse one day, way too much info to deal with in one sitting, but a very good resource to have.
Well done MOE!
Friday, December 19, 2014
Thursday, December 18, 2014
IDP Tues 16 Dec
This seemed to go very well. Everyone was very positive and Matai appears to have made progress with his goals that Kath had written down.
Of course Jenny prepares a report with all of the details of the meeting and so I won't double up but I would just like to say Thank you to all involved and it was lovely to walk out of the meeting feeling that everyone is invested in our little man and that he is coming along well. We really appreciate all of the input.
Now though everyone needs to go and have a Merry Christmas and not think about children and/or clients until 2015!
Merry Christmas :)
PS - Matai uttered his first 3 word phrase yesterday; 'Daddy, Mia, car', telling me that Dad and Mia were outside playing with the toy car. A nice little milestone to end our year!
Of course Jenny prepares a report with all of the details of the meeting and so I won't double up but I would just like to say Thank you to all involved and it was lovely to walk out of the meeting feeling that everyone is invested in our little man and that he is coming along well. We really appreciate all of the input.
Now though everyone needs to go and have a Merry Christmas and not think about children and/or clients until 2015!
Merry Christmas :)
PS - Matai uttered his first 3 word phrase yesterday; 'Daddy, Mia, car', telling me that Dad and Mia were outside playing with the toy car. A nice little milestone to end our year!
Preschool Bus Trip
Matai loved the bus!!
In the first week of December, Gladstone took the kids to Rowena Jackson to sing carols and on to the McIntyre Christmas house at West Plains Road.
Matai was very surprised (stopped in his tracks) and excited to go on the bus. He loved looking out the window and it was a kick for me to be along and see his interest.
It was also nice to see him get involved with the songs at the rest home because he had opted out at the Christmas party a few nights before.
I am not sure he understood why we were at the house or what the fuss was with the lights etc but he really enjoyed being with everyone and with his mum :)!
Thank you preschool teachers, what a lovely morning!
In the first week of December, Gladstone took the kids to Rowena Jackson to sing carols and on to the McIntyre Christmas house at West Plains Road.
Matai was very surprised (stopped in his tracks) and excited to go on the bus. He loved looking out the window and it was a kick for me to be along and see his interest.
It was also nice to see him get involved with the songs at the rest home because he had opted out at the Christmas party a few nights before.
I am not sure he understood why we were at the house or what the fuss was with the lights etc but he really enjoyed being with everyone and with his mum :)!
Thank you preschool teachers, what a lovely morning!
December (Weekly Speech Goal included)
11 Dec
Hi. It is Christmas, and everything is winding down (or up, depending on which way you look at it)!
Matai finished up with Bridget (speech therapist) yesterday and we feel good to have had a term of consistent sessions and great relationship building. I value Bridget's visits because they give me a chance to sit back,watch Matai and take the time to focus on his speech and language for half an hour. It is also so good to hear about what Bridget notices and what development she spots. Matai has increased his language usage and comprehension in the last 6 months.
Anyway, speech goal from now until Christmas:
SANTA!! Not only will be working on understanding and expression of this word but we will be making a point of introducing the concept of the person! Matai doesn't understand Christmas yet but we'll see what we can do :)
Hi. It is Christmas, and everything is winding down (or up, depending on which way you look at it)!
Matai finished up with Bridget (speech therapist) yesterday and we feel good to have had a term of consistent sessions and great relationship building. I value Bridget's visits because they give me a chance to sit back,watch Matai and take the time to focus on his speech and language for half an hour. It is also so good to hear about what Bridget notices and what development she spots. Matai has increased his language usage and comprehension in the last 6 months.
Anyway, speech goal from now until Christmas:
SANTA!! Not only will be working on understanding and expression of this word but we will be making a point of introducing the concept of the person! Matai doesn't understand Christmas yet but we'll see what we can do :)
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Books and Music - babble explosion
Reading books, singing and telling stories - Matai's long 'chat' has taken off recently!
Reading books
Matai has upped his reading. He takes himself to our 'reading corner' 3 or 4 times daily, grabs himself a very large pile of books and spends 20 minutes reading them to himself.
He is at the stage now where he will read every page and whilst I can't understand most of what he is saying, the odd word comes through and the story is constant. It is pretty cool and I love that he gets so much enjoyment out of reading. He also now says 'read' when he is making his way to the books. Photo books are still his favourite but anything familiar will work.
Of interest is that we have a sounds book 'The Noisy Book' by Soledad Bravi and each page has a picture and the words 'the donkey says.... Hee Haw' etc. Just in the last few months we have realised that Matai can do all of the sounds by heart. The visual aid is huge for Matai and key to tap into. The approximation of the sounds is not too bad either. But I guess the key thing that comes out of this is that his confidence has grown. He would've used to refuse to attempt most of these sounds, however now he is happy to give them a go and if one doesn't come out right he isn't too bothered. We can get through the whole book, whereas in the past it might have been thrown away if things became too hard.
Singing Songs
Again, just in the last few weeks we have witnessed an explosion of singing! He has some very well worn music DVDs and it used to be all actions that would come out of watching them but now we are getting word approximations and some kind of tune! This morning he has been singing 'all day long' from The wheels on the Bus and this is pretty cool considering we haven't heard him put 3 words together in other areas of language yet. It is also fun to sing the songs to/with him and leave out words for him to put in eg. Row, row your ________ .
Telling Stories
The other noteable verbal development is that Matai will now tell very long stories that he fully expects you to listen to and he gets quite annoyed if you cut in or take your attention away. The stories have gestures attached and seem to have genuine meaning to him. We hear these the best when Aaron comes home from work. Aaron will asks what Matai did today and Matai's answer is long and detailed. The exciting most recent thing is that after Matai has his own go at babbling, I will help out by saying something like 'We went to the _______', and Matai often makes an approximation at the word (in this instance 'park') and 'Matai went down the ______' (slide).
I am excited about this increase in chat and babble. Matai wants to communicate and often finds it frustrating when he can't, but I feel like his confidence is growing lately. I don't know if any of this will be seen at preschool or not but 1:1 I am sure it can be brought out and I know Matai feels that his talk is of value when he is listened to.
:) Happy chatty days.
Reading books
Matai has upped his reading. He takes himself to our 'reading corner' 3 or 4 times daily, grabs himself a very large pile of books and spends 20 minutes reading them to himself.
He is at the stage now where he will read every page and whilst I can't understand most of what he is saying, the odd word comes through and the story is constant. It is pretty cool and I love that he gets so much enjoyment out of reading. He also now says 'read' when he is making his way to the books. Photo books are still his favourite but anything familiar will work.
Of interest is that we have a sounds book 'The Noisy Book' by Soledad Bravi and each page has a picture and the words 'the donkey says.... Hee Haw' etc. Just in the last few months we have realised that Matai can do all of the sounds by heart. The visual aid is huge for Matai and key to tap into. The approximation of the sounds is not too bad either. But I guess the key thing that comes out of this is that his confidence has grown. He would've used to refuse to attempt most of these sounds, however now he is happy to give them a go and if one doesn't come out right he isn't too bothered. We can get through the whole book, whereas in the past it might have been thrown away if things became too hard.
Singing Songs
Again, just in the last few weeks we have witnessed an explosion of singing! He has some very well worn music DVDs and it used to be all actions that would come out of watching them but now we are getting word approximations and some kind of tune! This morning he has been singing 'all day long' from The wheels on the Bus and this is pretty cool considering we haven't heard him put 3 words together in other areas of language yet. It is also fun to sing the songs to/with him and leave out words for him to put in eg. Row, row your ________ .
Telling Stories
The other noteable verbal development is that Matai will now tell very long stories that he fully expects you to listen to and he gets quite annoyed if you cut in or take your attention away. The stories have gestures attached and seem to have genuine meaning to him. We hear these the best when Aaron comes home from work. Aaron will asks what Matai did today and Matai's answer is long and detailed. The exciting most recent thing is that after Matai has his own go at babbling, I will help out by saying something like 'We went to the _______', and Matai often makes an approximation at the word (in this instance 'park') and 'Matai went down the ______' (slide).
I am excited about this increase in chat and babble. Matai wants to communicate and often finds it frustrating when he can't, but I feel like his confidence is growing lately. I don't know if any of this will be seen at preschool or not but 1:1 I am sure it can be brought out and I know Matai feels that his talk is of value when he is listened to.
:) Happy chatty days.
Monday, November 3, 2014
What's new?
What's new? - 03 Nov
I thought I might start trying Hide and Seek to see if I can elicit more of this fun phrase.
Edit: Two weeks later with the help of Dr Sotutu (Paed) we have found the grommet, it was actually right where it should be, we are back on track!
- 'whereareya'
I thought I might start trying Hide and Seek to see if I can elicit more of this fun phrase.
- Big bed
- Ear infection
Edit: Two weeks later with the help of Dr Sotutu (Paed) we have found the grommet, it was actually right where it should be, we are back on track!
Monday, October 13, 2014
Weekly Speech Goal 13 Oct - 19 Oct
1. Big / little (for understanding)
We are not sure of Matai's understanding of either of these terms and this week we will aim to find out!
2. 'Matai' - We will try to get him to produce his own name, probably by imitation.
As it stands, Matai calls himself 'you'. We sign 'I love .... Mummy, Daddy, Mia every night. When it is Matai's turn we say I love 'you'. Now when Matai runs through the family names, which is quite regularly, he says Mummy, Daddy, Mia and then points to himself and says 'you'. I know he knows his name is Matai as he responds to it, but I guess 'you' is easier to use!
We are not sure of Matai's understanding of either of these terms and this week we will aim to find out!
- Aaron is going to give choices - big / little spoon, big / little toast at breakfast
- I will also give choices of big and little during routine
- I will set up some play with - big and little cars, big and little stones, big and little balls, big and little shoes
- I will use playdough to make big and little.
2. 'Matai' - We will try to get him to produce his own name, probably by imitation.
As it stands, Matai calls himself 'you'. We sign 'I love .... Mummy, Daddy, Mia every night. When it is Matai's turn we say I love 'you'. Now when Matai runs through the family names, which is quite regularly, he says Mummy, Daddy, Mia and then points to himself and says 'you'. I know he knows his name is Matai as he responds to it, but I guess 'you' is easier to use!
- Reading his photo books, getting him to imitate, asking 'Who is that?
- Taking care to use third person rather than you, yours etc.
- What is your name?
Monday, October 6, 2014
Preschool Disco!
Just because photos is what I do!
We all had a great time at the preschool disco recently. Matai loved the lighted floor and being with his friends. Aaron and I loved having fun with our kids and catching up with other parents. And the surprise of the night was how much Mia loved to boogie!
Thanks to the Gladstone crew for the effort, we appreciate it.
We all had a great time at the preschool disco recently. Matai loved the lighted floor and being with his friends. Aaron and I loved having fun with our kids and catching up with other parents. And the surprise of the night was how much Mia loved to boogie!
Thanks to the Gladstone crew for the effort, we appreciate it.
2 words!
Matai is saying more and more single words, often you have to be his Mum to understand the pronounciation, but nonetheless he is attempting more and more regularly. We are at the stage now where he should be starting to use 2 words together for words that he knows well, and he has been doing this for a long time with the words 'more' and 'please', often with the sign for 'more' followed by the word 'please'. However we haven't seen it with other words as yet.
Every morning when Aaron goes in to get Matai out of bed, one of the first words that he says is 'Shower'.
This morning, Aaron wasn't intending on giving him a shower and so he closed him down pretty quickly. Matai was persistent however, and kept saying 'shower' 'shower'. Probably realising that he wasn't having the desired effect, he suddenly very clearly (and loudly) added to his plea saying 'Daddy, SHOWER'!
I was next door, lying in bed, stopped in my tracks! A very routine and mundane moment that no one else might notice as extraordinary, but for me it was a fab way to start the day (not so much for Matai, he still didn't manage to get his shower!
Every morning when Aaron goes in to get Matai out of bed, one of the first words that he says is 'Shower'.
This morning, Aaron wasn't intending on giving him a shower and so he closed him down pretty quickly. Matai was persistent however, and kept saying 'shower' 'shower'. Probably realising that he wasn't having the desired effect, he suddenly very clearly (and loudly) added to his plea saying 'Daddy, SHOWER'!
I was next door, lying in bed, stopped in my tracks! A very routine and mundane moment that no one else might notice as extraordinary, but for me it was a fab way to start the day (not so much for Matai, he still didn't manage to get his shower!
Weekly Speech Goal 6 - 13 Oct
Straight into it! Edit 13 Oct
1. to find out which body parts that Matai can say spontaneously (ie. without imitation needed).
2. Understand - 'pants'
We know that Matai can understand 'trousers' and often imitates it. However does he understand 'pants'? My guess is yes. This is a word that I have heard Aaron and preschool use so I want to check.
Matai says Hello, usually with a wave, however I don't know whether he can say 'Hello' because of imitation or whether he is able to produce it of his own accord.
Highlights this week:
1. to find out which body parts that Matai can say spontaneously (ie. without imitation needed).
- I will use the drill toy which he likes to drill against himself to encourage him to touch different parts of his and my body, trying to elicit labelling as we go.
- I will get him to wash his own face after meals and try to elicit labels.
- In the bath/shower Aaron will try to elicit labels.
2. Understand - 'pants'
We know that Matai can understand 'trousers' and often imitates it. However does he understand 'pants'? My guess is yes. This is a word that I have heard Aaron and preschool use so I want to check.
- Ask him to fetch his pants
- Ask him to put his pants away
- 'Pull your pants up'
- Read 'Buster' focussing on pants instead of trousers.
Matai says Hello, usually with a wave, however I don't know whether he can say 'Hello' because of imitation or whether he is able to produce it of his own accord.
- Greet him with a wave and wait for a verbal
Highlights this week:
- Matai initiated 'that one'. He was passing me a book to read to him.
- 'awa' - if you hear this, it means 'stop' or 'no' in Samoan, and apparently it is part of Matai's repertoire now :)
What is this blog all about?
The purpose of this blog is to allow for a shared space where the people who are working, playing, caring for and spending the most time with Matai on a day to day, week to week basis, can see and share his progress and development.
I will document milestones, share goals and hopefully fill in some of the background of what is happening for Matai.
My hope is that you will learn some information about Matai, Down syndrome in general, get some ideas and be able to share your own ideas, stories and information about Matai as feels appropriate, along the way.
This need for a 'sharing space' has arisen because I am finding that I am often interacting with many people on a weekly basis about how Matai is progressing. I glean many gems of wisdom from various professionals and often there are important ideas, information and experiences that I wish that other people in Matai's world could know too. Until now I am the only person that holds and facilitates all that information, and I feel that if I share it better, then a 'whole picture' of Matai's progress might help the different 'parts' be able to plan and be more focussed in their work (or play :).
Please know that there is no obligation to read here frequently. I know you are all very busy people!
I offer it as an option and hopefully a way of making your job easier.
These are the people that are currently working regularly with Matai:
Occupational Therapist - Kath Macdonald (fortnightly, Early Intervention, Southland Hospital) -
Private Speech Therapist - Bridget McArthur ( weekly, Shout Speech Language Therapy, Alexandra)
Early Intervention Teacher - Jenny Tattersfield (weekly, Ministry of Education)
Gladstone Preschool - Jacqui and her lovely crew of early childhood teachers (Monday and Wednesday mornings)
Equally important as the above professional services, Aaron and I have two large extended families here in Invercargill who are very involved in Matai's daily life. He is lucky enough to have 4 doting grandparents, 7 cousins that we have regular contact with, and many committed Aunts and Uncles. He is a lucky boy! Some of these family members may also choose to read here as they are just as involved in his development.
I will document milestones, share goals and hopefully fill in some of the background of what is happening for Matai.
My hope is that you will learn some information about Matai, Down syndrome in general, get some ideas and be able to share your own ideas, stories and information about Matai as feels appropriate, along the way.
This need for a 'sharing space' has arisen because I am finding that I am often interacting with many people on a weekly basis about how Matai is progressing. I glean many gems of wisdom from various professionals and often there are important ideas, information and experiences that I wish that other people in Matai's world could know too. Until now I am the only person that holds and facilitates all that information, and I feel that if I share it better, then a 'whole picture' of Matai's progress might help the different 'parts' be able to plan and be more focussed in their work (or play :).
Please know that there is no obligation to read here frequently. I know you are all very busy people!
I offer it as an option and hopefully a way of making your job easier.
These are the people that are currently working regularly with Matai:
Occupational Therapist - Kath Macdonald (fortnightly, Early Intervention, Southland Hospital) -
Private Speech Therapist - Bridget McArthur ( weekly, Shout Speech Language Therapy, Alexandra)
Early Intervention Teacher - Jenny Tattersfield (weekly, Ministry of Education)
Gladstone Preschool - Jacqui and her lovely crew of early childhood teachers (Monday and Wednesday mornings)
Equally important as the above professional services, Aaron and I have two large extended families here in Invercargill who are very involved in Matai's daily life. He is lucky enough to have 4 doting grandparents, 7 cousins that we have regular contact with, and many committed Aunts and Uncles. He is a lucky boy! Some of these family members may also choose to read here as they are just as involved in his development.
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