Developments during social distancing

I’ve joined a group of mums to answer a Monday question. Today’s is, “what new things has your child learned these past few weeks of social distancing?”

Things we are proud of lately which are all new - Coraline is making some animal sounds when she sees them in books (pig and cow). She’s really having a go at signing e.g. she can do "monkey" and "teddy" when she sees them in books. She’s tried the sign for “kite” when she sees it in a book and “egg”. Every time she does it I just think, “wow, this is amazing!” as she’s reconnecting signs we’ve done on other days, and remembering them herself when she sees a picture.

I think I saw with my own eyes that she signed "more" at the end of dinner yesterday so we totally went and got her more to show we understood what she said! That’s the showstopper which made me so happy!

She also hands me objects if she wants help, or me to read a book to her. I sign “thank you” when she hands it to me and she signs “thank you” back. All new stuff!

She’s begun to match a set we made of farm animals and flash cards with their photo on. She’s making some new sounds to flash cards like “p” and “f”. And if you’re counting she holds up all her fingers as she knows we hold up fingers when we count. She can anticipate and do Makaton actions to some nursery rhymes. And of course there is the word “cat”. It’s her first word and she says it when she sees a cat in a book.

We know that Coraline’s language is delayed and that children with Down’s syndrome tend to have a strength in learning visually. Hence the flash cards and Makaton. We have been repeating flash cards and signs for months and months, or rather years, but have recently really added to our range and repetition with real practice on our part, and now we can see the first shoots of her using it.

In short it feels like communication has taken off! This interaction is a real joy as it’s a completely new level.

Kevin says, “she’s become so much more engaged and expressive in all ways, including shouting.”