Half term is now upon us – hurray!!!

Well done to all of our little Chatterboxes – you have made it through the first half of the Autumn term.  As Autumn and Winter approach and the weather changes, many children with Downs Syndrome are more prone to colds, coughs, flu and it can be a pretty miserable time all around.  As children with Downs Syndrome have smaller airways than ‘ typically developing’ children, being blocked up can effect breathing making sleeping much harder.

Getting out in the fresh air, taking regular exercise and increasing those Vitamin D levels help children with Downs Syndrome and everyone else!  So fingers crossed we see some sunshine this 1/2 term.

Moving on to Secondary School can be a difficult time for a lot of children and children with Downs Syndrome are no different. Leaving the familiar surroundings of your primary school, your friends, teachers and all that you know can be a very daunting experience.

The majority of children with Downs Syndrome attend ‘mainstream’ primary education, however only a very small percentage are then able to transition to mainstream secondary education.

As a child with Downs Syndrome matures and moves into adolescence, life skills, self care and independence become more important that some more traditional subjects which would be taught in a mainstream environment.  This is one of the reasons many families decide that the ‘Special Needs School’ is a better choice as these ‘life lessons’ are taught as part of the curriculum and as the child progresses through school, this becomes more and more relevant.

This photo shows one of our members on his first day at Secondary School! Good Luck!