Some states put a limit on how many therapist visits are allowed before the person with Down syndrome will need to use private insurance for coverage, he says.īut regardless of specific options, the goal of the baby’s first year is overall development. The options that are available depend on the state you live in though, explains Dr. Vellody. “It will dictate the trajectory for your child.” “Early intervention is so important,” says Michelle Sie Whitten, chief executive officer of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation in Denver. These programs provide children with Down syndrome the various types of therapies they need and that have been proven beneficial - including occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy. ( 3) (Looking for one? Check out the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center’s helpful list of resources for families.) ( 4) Such services are available and should be started anytime after birth until the child turns 3, or until the child is eligible to enter kindergarten. The law includes coverage of early intervention services designed to help address the developmental delays children with Down syndrome face. The federal law requires that states offer free, appropriate public education for all children with Down syndrome as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Here’s a look at what’s recommended, based on age group: It’s not as much about “treating” Down syndrome as it is finding the therapies and services that make a positive impact, says Kathy Higgins, family liaison and early intervention evaluation coordinator at The Arc Westchester's Children's School for Early Development in Hawthorne, New York. ( 2) It really comes down to the individual, and treatments should be based on what each person needs.
It’s important to note that there’s no one perfect way to treat Down syndrome. But there are many ways to help people living with the condition manage their disabilities and lead happy and productive lives.
And there’s also no way to prevent Down syndrome from occurring. There’s no way to cure Down syndrome because it’s a genetic disorder. “And that, thankfully, started to take over.” “Somewhere around the early '70s there was this idea that this was a child you could take care of and educate, and manage their medical issues and things of that nature,” he says. In the 1960s, when a baby was born with Down syndrome, the parents were offered the option to institutionalize the child, says Kishore Vellody, MD, medical director for the Down Syndrome Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania. Services to help people with Down syndrome have changed dramatically in the past half century.
0 kommentar(er)
