Speech therapy, speech therapy, communication development in children with Down Syndrome and Autism

The impact of the stimulation and quality of content of speech effect the pace of development of language and knowledge of children.

Suitable environment to promote a positive early child development, forming the structure or framework for learning throughout childhood and later

With the famous journalist and writer Patsy Adolph

 The children follow the pattern of their parents in communicative style and action.  
Through our always beloved, with famous singer Lula Valdivia

Home of language development

Language development in children with normal development actually starts 3 months before birth.At this time your hearing baby-fetus is already functional. When awake, anything over 60 decibels acoustic stimulus is received and processed by the brain of the baby; this loss of intensity, relative to normal hearing, is due to the medium surrounding the baby and the fact that his middle ear be filled with fluid. 

At birth, the infant demonstrates their ability to recognize the voice of his mother and identify it to the rest of the voices. This is purely prosodic discrimination capacity, ie, based on the rhythm and tonal characteristics that are unique to the voice of the mother. This has been demonstrated, and is easily verified, using the well known techniques of cognitive and behavioral research in newborns.From the distinctive voice of the mother (and through it, so to speak) newborns and young babies also demonstrate the ability to recognize the native language, provided through its prosodic features; ie can discriminate between the language to which they are exposed during pregnancy and other languages.

Finally, infants are able to discriminate between virtually all possible pairs of sounds that exist in human speech. An ability to scale back during the first year of life due to the progressive (and partially exclusive) specialization of the sounds will be the future of the phonemes of the language community.

It is conceivable that all these pre-linguistic skills and knowledge provide a useful starting point to acquire the language of the community to the extent that, in a sense, the baby already knows what language cater to continue acquiring it, and has certain instruments innate that are available to start breaking the code.

Prelinguistic skills in Down syndrome and Autism 

The disturbing reality is that we know almost nothing about these abilities-or lack thereof-in infants and children with developmental problems. Indeed, this is a problem for early intervention programs. Human development (and language is no exception) is a highly cumulative process. Not knowing exactly when and how to start the pre-language development in children with intellectual disability prevents us define and develop early intervention programs that have maximum effectiveness.

We should devote most preferably in our research agenda is needed to answer the above questions, because there is reason to suspect that babies with Down syndrome and Autism, in particular, may be born without having reached the same degree of prelinguistic knowledge than children in the general population.

You can do many useful things the child with Down syndrome and autism as early language intervention (and pre-language). A congenital syndrome, despite its gravity, provides the opportunity to act on their problems very quickly. And since language development is a process of accumulation, it also allows to interesting results when this development is driven, intensely reducing delays that so often plague so these syndromes.

In order to advance along the path of the intervention, we now need, as a priority, better understand the prelinguistic child with Down syndrome and autism compared with children showing ordinary people in comparable periods. This knowledge, which we hope to have in the coming years will allow us to plan and realize more efficient early intervention programs for the benefit of children with Down syndrome, autism and their families syndrome.

In fact, research studies show that babies with Down syndrome show patterns of attention and habituation to speech that differ from other babies; for example, take longer to respond to complex auditory stimuli, are more easily distracted by sounds. Studies using ERPs and reaction times suggest that children with Down syndrome the process (especially the most complex) auditory information more slowly than children in the general population, both of the same chronological age as of the same mental age. It has also been observed in some people with Down syndrome aberrant lateralization of auditory processing, as well as a reversal of own acoustic advantages of verbal material. To this must be added the well-known deficit in sound transmission on the 20 to 25% (or more) of children with Down syndrome.

If this is so, it is justified that an early pre-language intervention in children with Down syndrome and Autism is put in place. What consist?. Basically in the intensifying verbal and vocal natural interaction with the child, both quantitatively (at least half an hour a day). 

During the first year

Throughout the first year, babies with Down syndrome show typical sequential course of babbling (indiscriminate, vowel, syllable, reduplicated and varied), albeit with delays. It is particularly delayed (two months or more) the reduplicated babbling (bababa, tatata, etc..), Which is a clear precursor of conventional speech. The same is true for other pre-linguistic aspect, called interactive or intermittent stuttering, also called the prelinguistic phrasing. Is that the child spontaneously interrupted her vocal production after a sequence of about 3 seconds, clearly leaving the impression that his party will "respond". Babies with Down syndrome also tend to prolong his sentence longer (about 5 seconds) with spaces interfrase shorter, giving less time to "answer" the party space, which is a higher frequency of collisions between vowels mothers and children.

Early Intervention

We need to encourage all current and socially reinforce in children with Down any vocal production and the various stages of babbling, in order to promote prelinguistic activity as a precursor of early language development syndrome. Particular attention should be paid to interactive babbling, favoring it based on the adult child often lead vocal or verbally, for a few seconds, and then giving him four or five seconds of time for the child to answer, before returning to take the lead in the verbal interaction.

Orofacial Physical Therapy

The orofacial physical therapy has become a specialty in early intervention, which increasingly is being made in children with Down syndrome. Its objectives are to improve both the buccolingual motility to ensure good chewing and swallowing food production as expressive syllables and words.

The Help written language

Expose your child with Down syndrome to learning reading earlier than is usually done with other children (even at 4 years), you can help increase and stabilize some aspects of grammatical function. The reason is that written language is based on the channel memory and visual perception in Down syndrome are better preserved than in the auditory modality. That allows subtle inflection markers better use. In addition, the written submission allows grammatical forms are exposed for longer than with speech, which makes fast time pass, and that favors both observe as memorizing.

In particular, I'm glad Marquito attend school and individual therapies, because their condition requires greater socialization, which will impact positively on their language and communication.

Continuous giving all the support, care and love that can, without reservation, because that is the best therapy that you can provide ... We are your bridge to the environment or their environment, and requires a lot of me, and family.

While every child is unique in their performance, I have faith that I will be and help achieve a more efficient and harmonious, especially if I'm working together with the school and the speech therapist ... It is easier to carry things when have a helping hand to guide us along the way ...

Any help can be useful and be positive in the long run. Remember that it is not 100% correctly pronounce but an experience that will enhance all areas of language and especially socio-communicative skills.

I in my experience as a mother I have seen different situations, but in most, the children manage to amaze me for their progress and achievements ... but with hard work, and above all a team consisting ...

Remember to give lots of love, patience and encouragement ... this is the best therapy for now and forever.