Encouraging a child with Down syndrome from an early age is essential for their development, so they need more time from their family and specialists to acquire and improve their skills. A good stimulation performed in the first years of life can be decisive for the acquisition of skills in several aspects, such as motor development, communication and cognition. Many exercises can be done at home, in everyday life, using elements from the child’s daily life. Learn some of these exercises and help your child stimulate and grow:
1) Expose the baby to different stimuli whenever possible. Show him things he doesn’t know about and allow him to feel different textures, such as fruit peels, sponges, jelly, and playground grass. Another form of stimulation is to bring your face, full of shapes and colors, closer to the baby’s face.
2) If you are a parent, fall in love with your child. Touch, kiss and hug the baby with great affection. Communicate and see how he expresses many things even before speaking. There is no better therapy than love!
3) Avoid letting your baby sleep for very long periods. Even small, he needs routine to perform stimulation activities. If stimulated at the same times, the baby will be more awake and not complain about the activities.
4) Look for the best time of day to stimulate your baby. Make sure he is fed, hydrated and dry before starting any activity.
5) Do the exercises daily: babies with Down syndrome need repeated contacts with the same experience. But repeating doesn’t mean doing everything the same: develop a skill with a variety of activities.
6) Have realistic expectations: Choose activities that motivate your baby. You will notice if the exercise is too challenging for him. Avoid insisting so as not to generate mutual frustration. Each child has its time, avoid comparisons.
7) Divide the activity into step by step: learning is divided into stages. Reward the baby for every small step he is able to take and value his abilities.
8) Do fun things: Your voice and body language can motivate your baby. Use creativity and remember to “switch places with him” in the game or activity to reinforce interaction and interest.
9) Take care of the environment: Learning new skills requires attention and focus, as well as an environment free from interruptions and noise. Avoid providing too many stimuli at the same time, such as too many toys or radio and television on.
10 Father, mother and other family members also have humor and availability. Try to respect your own feelings. Even with a baby at home, make time for yourself and don’t trade the parent-child relationship for a marathon of activities. Remember that parents are not therapists.
11) Try it out! If something doesn’t work, you can always try something else.
12) We all need time and practice to learn new things. Let your baby know this.
13) How about creating a circuit with associated games? When your baby is more balanced, you can encourage him to do more than one activity, such as walking from one spot to another and walking up and down stairs.