Signing language is fun!!

My daughter have unilaterally audition, she can only hear from her left ear; we find out this almost since she born; at first we thought this will really affect her development and speech, more because due her good ear we can’t use an hearing aid, at least not now… so the whole family started learning sign language, at first the basic, mom, dad, more, all done, eat, milk, etc, etc. but we have so much fun in the process that my older daughter and I, are signing almost everything, all the time; signing is great even if you don’t have any audition or speech issues; and Camila is starting to get it! She is already signing: more, eat/food, all done, mom, and we are sure pretty soon she will be signing even more! If interest at all, here is a few ones for start, and let me know if you want more information about it...

Developmental Milestones and Skills Table for Down Syndrome Children

I don’t know about you but it makes me crazy that it is hard to find a developmental chart for kids with Down syndrome, and for “regular” kids you can find them anywhere! Online, books, really anywhere! But for Down syndrome kids it is another story… Even if you ask the Doctors or teachers, they like to say that with Down syndrome kids each case is completely different, they don’t know when they will learn a new skill, bla, bla, bla. The point is that we all know that, even the regular kids, meet expectations in their own times; but is nice to have at least an idea of what to expect.

0 – 2 months

Smiling

3 – 5 months

Prone: turns head to both sides

Neck righting

Upright: head bobs but stays erect

Prone: optical righting

Prone: raises and maintains head at 45 degrees

React to the door bell or estranges sounds

Vocalize; make a sound different that crying

Smile in answer to your smile

6 – 12 months

Put hands together

Fallow an object up and down, side to side

Laugh

Play with a rattle

Fallow voices

Get upset if you take a toy away

Prone: head and chest are raised to 90 degrees with forearm support

Roll from stomach to back

Rolls from back to stomach

Hand to foot play

Pivots in stomach-lying 360 degrees

Sits

Moves a toy from one hand to another

13 – 15 months

Clap hands

Finger feeding

Talk 2 or 3 words

Try to get a toy out of her reach

Make the bye-bye sign

Moves from sitting to stomach lying by moving to the side

Assumes quadruped

Belly crawls

Pulls to kneel from sitting using a surface with an edge

Pulls to stand from sitting on the floor

16 – 18 months

Take a small object from the floor

Play peek a boo

Understand the word “no” but not always obey

Imitate

Baby talks (like if she is talking in foreign language that doesn’t exist)

Moves from sitting to quadruped by moving to the side

Moves from quadruped to sitting

Pulls to kneel from quadruped using a surface with an edge

Moves from stomach-lying to sitting by moving to the side

Creeps in quadruped (crawls)

Pulls to stand from quadruped

Pulls to stand through half kneel

Moves from standing to sitting on the floor with knees bent

Cruises in one direction

19 – 22 months

Using spoon/fork

Play with a ball with someone else

Indicate what she wants in a different way than crying

Bear walking

Steps 10 feet with two hand support

Climbs onto the sofa with the seat cushion removed

Stands without support for 10 seconds

Walks 10 feet with a push toy

Climbs off the sofa with the seat cushion in place

23 – 26 months

Talking words

Drink from a sippy cup

Fallow simple orders

Climbs up a flight stairs

Takes 2 independent steps

Walks 10 feet with one-hand support

27 – 34 months

Talking sentences

Climbs down a flight of stairs

Walks 15 feet without hand support

35 – 39 months

Walks down a 4-inch curb without hand support

Walks up a 4-inch curb without support

Walks (fast walk) 100 feet in less than 25 seconds with hand support

Walks across on 8-ft long, 7-in wide balance beam without hand support

Walks up stairs marking time holding the rail

40 – 49 months

Start toilet training

Undressing

Walks down stairs marking time holding the rail

Jumps

Walks up an 8-in curb without hand support

50 – 81 months

Putting clothes on

Runs 100 feet in less that 25 seconds

Walks up stairs holding the rail alternating feet

Rides tricycle 15 feet

Walks across an 8-ft long, 4-in wide balance beam without hand support

Walks down stairs holding the rail alternating feet 

My first post! This princess is finally crawling!

Camila Ariel, 17 months old, beautiful! what can I say? She is my baby after all!


For those who are anxious and frustrated seeing other one year old "regular babies" crawling or even walking all over the place, believe me it will happen with your little one, they just have their own schedule, and yes I know, I know everybody tells you the same thing... So I want to share some tips that work for me and maybe help you to put your Angel right on track!

• Be patient... (yeaph, this has to be the most important one!) remember that you may not see any improvement at first, but that doesn't mean that he or she is not getting something. Sometimes I feel that they like to "save" all what they learn on the daily basis without showing us anything and driving us crazy, and one day they just decide to put everything together and "show time"!!! " :) my baby at first started army crawling for several months, and finally since last week she is crawling in "the appropriate way" about 80% of the time, so we still have a lot of work to do, but I feel we finally crossed the bridge.

• Motivation is another important one, my daughter loves paper and food! so I used them in my favor! when she was lazy, I show her something that she likes, puffs are a good one! that way she works on her chewing at the same time as her mobility,  and she rolls in order to have the prize! just make sure you don't put the prize too much out of her reach because she may lose interest.

• Sitting,  this is another good skill for strengthening her abdominal muscles, and  very hard to obtain due to their low muscular tone, and believe me if someone else repeats to me  that my baby has low muscular tone due to her down syndrome it will make me turn into  "Hulk" or something like that! (but between you and me, it is important to be concsientious about it).  If she is still not sitting  by herself, work on that skill before working on the crawling, my daughter started sitting just  before her first B-Day, (it worked out great for the pictures!) Anyway,  lets assume that she is sitting,  the idea is always work in  the strength of her abdominal muscles, try using a yoga or any oversize ball, sit her on the top and start bouncing her and moving her back and forth and side to side just enough to feel how she tightens her abdominal muscles, you can use your lap as well. Also use a little stool, pillow, baby chair or again your leg, and help her to sit without support on her back (just leave your hands close in case she loses her balance), and again use activity tables, sofa or anything that works  like a table for putting toys or food that keeps your baby's interest in maintaining the position, when she has some practice in this you can even start giving her toys or food encouraging to cross her arms in order to get it.

• Kneeling; it is a good idea working in their kneeling, you can use the same trick. Food, toys or whatever she likes, this will help her to strength her abdominals muscles, necessary for crawling and stand up. Use a stool, sofa, activity table or your own leg (put the prize in the top); at first help her to get the position, first resting her butt in her feet and putting her hands in the stool for support (make sure she don't adopt the "W" position), the most that she play in this position the most strong she will get, when she feels ready, she will pull herself and rise her butt up, that means that she is getting closer! keep encouraging kneeling.

• crawling position, she may adopt the knees and hands position by herself, other ways help her do it for a few seconds, when she get it, a rocking movement will be a good start for getting the arms strong (never force more time of what she really wants, we don't want she get hurt or scare, we want to send the message that this is a fun position and she can do more things being in fourth) if this is not working to good try to use your own leg, that way your leg can support her tummy and make her job easy. Remember always use incentives.

• "The trapito", Mexican grandmas version for  piece of fabric or blanket (yes, I am from Mexico, but im sure you already find out that with "my english"), anyway, put "the trapito" under her tummy when she is doing the crawling position by herself, and help her advance just a little bit, always making sure her hands and knees are in the floor, if she gets scare or put herself flat, start with the rocking movement is maybe a good idea until she gets used to "the trapito". This trick is very used in Mexico, specially in grandmas time, all my cousins even me use the trapito in some point. But not all the kids like it. (it doesn't hurt to try).

• Another good idea is climbing, encourage her to climb on everything! even yourself, so each time she raises her arms for you to hold her, doesn't matter how much do you want to pick up your little angel, let her work a little bit first, climbing on you (this specially works if you are sitting in the floor) and make sure you hold her before she lose interest.  For climbing purposes other things that work great besides you is pillows, again activity tables (I love them), even the first steps of the stairs (if you have the courage, I still don't) the sofa (again, make sure to put the right motivation in the top), but my favorite: the handrail from the crib, it help Camila a lot!

• I save the best for the end, the best help of anything, her older sister Laila (three years old, almost fourth), she  puts her self crawling all over the place putting a good example for Camila, encouraging her to follow her, giving her toys  and motivating her all the time, so brothers and sisters are wonderful helpers.