I have an amazing little 14 month old dd, K who happens to have down syndrome. I am wondering if there are any other parents using this system for their kids with special needs.
if i remember exactly Glenn Doman began his teaching ideas working with special needs kids, including Down’s syndrome. And when he turned them into geniuses, he realised he was truly onto something!! He had them all playing violin by 2 or so. His books are worth reading (just order them in to your local library from some other interconnected library if yours doesnt have the info).
I have actually been doing a bit of Doman stuff - especially from the physically superb book. Violin by age 2 though! That’s amazing. I’ll have to loook into it!
you might be interested in my post in early learning about Brain Gym.
I have the cutest little boy with Down Syndrome named Jason. He is 28 months old. Kmum, I would love to know what you are doing with Kay. Jason does a bit of signing, loves books but I have done no special programs with him. We don’t have access to Doman’s NACD here in South Africa but I’ve read a couple of his books but I have not had the time (been homeschooling 3 older boys) to implement his ideas.
We have been doing some reading and bits. Now that K is crawling we are trying to encourage it We have nylon tunnels to crawl in & other things. We are also doing the beginning stages of brachiating ( she will swing from our thumbs). Everything we have done I’ve gotten from books or the internet.
My hardest problem is finding time to fit it all in though. This summer has been even worse, so hopefully it will be a little easier when the older kids to back to school.
Hello,
My son is nearly four now. He has a rare genetic disorder (which noone knows what it is). He has profound and complex learning disabilities and does not communicate much. However, being a teacher myself I do my best to teach him. I use a lot of teaching aids, such as flashcards, multisensory aids, slideshows and auditory devices, which all contribute to make the lessons fun and stimulating. Moreover, he uses a large pressure switch connected to a computer, such that he could play computer games and also to communicate with us. At the end of the day it can be very tiring but rewarding. I have a younger daughter as well who helps him a lot.
My son’s condition is very different from Kay’s or Jason’s, but I know that unfortunately all situations are pretty tough. In our case the toughest part is that he is not mobile so that adds to the problem. Are there any other parents to children with physical disabilities as well as learning difficulties? I would really like to talk to someone else in my situation!!
By the way, thanks for addressing this problem.
I have been away for a bit so I have been slow in responding. It’s nice to see other mom’s in similar situations here. I would love to keep in touch and see how your kids are doing!
Nikita - thanks for the brain gym info! : 
Khloe - nice to hear from you. If you don’t mind me asking, is it likely that your son will become mobile at some point? I can only imagine how difficult that will become as he gets bigger. Kids with down syndrome have hypotonia( low muscle tone) - they generally do everything typical kids do physically just take a little longer getting there. Typically they walk around 2 years or so.
Cherylb & Khloe, I’m wondering how things are going for you. Are your kids enjoying the program?
K really sems to enjoy it. She seems to really be interested in the number dots.
Any other special needs moms out there?
Hi there,
Lately I’ve been very busy, and my kids take up a lot of time. Little Reader is very interesting for Nikolai (my son) as he enjoys pressing his switch (instead of a mouse) and changes the picture. Apart from a cause and affect tool, indirectly it also teaches him the sight words. Leah (his sister) enjoys it as well.
Kmum - Unfortunately, I don’t think that Nik will ever walk independtly as his sitting balance is still very poor, and he’ll be four in November. But anyway, with walking aids he can make it. Last April we went abroad to get him a special walker from England – the David Hart Walker but up till now it has not been successful as Nik doesn’t want to use it 
take care ALL
Nice to hear from you!
I’m glad Nik enjoys little reader. I think we will be very pleased at how much they learn from it. I hope he decides to use his walker soon, I’m sure he will when he is ready, but sometimes it is hard to wait on their schedule.
Hi there, my friend has an older child with special needs - he’s 14 years old and they have struggled to find a school that will take him in. Do you think this program would help him? Or is it only designed for up to 5 years old? Anyone know???
Thanks
TABS
I sure this program could be used for older kids who are learning to read. What kind of special needs does your friends child have? It may be possible to give better advice if we had an idea of the areas that are challenging to him.
MY GRAndson too is listed with special needs .he is autistic . he has speech delay . i am finding site very usful although he is already 5. the most that worries me is when having tuntrum. he having them because he does not want to stay school.After 3 months summer holidays .Will he settle again ? can u give hints what i shall do.
I don’t know a lot about autism, but my understanding is that many kids with autism do better with a set routine. Perhaps he needs to get back into the school routine again. It is fairly early in the school year yet. I have heard of people making home made books to show kids step by step how their day will go, perhaps this could be helpful to prepare him.
Hi Jake,
I can imagine how hard it is for you seeing your grandchild having a tantrum…and feeling helpless. You could use Little Reader and prepare a slideshow of what is to happen during the day. Autistic children usually feel more secure when they have a time table. You could spend some time together watching the slideshow every morning (to get him into a routine) before going to school, such that he would know what will happen during the day.
Moreover you could ask his teacher or learning support assisstant (LSA)to give you some details of the activities that he does during the day. Then you could prepare a set of flashcards of all the activities, for example… story telling, colouring, and so on. Then, every morning, the LSA can help your grandson put the flashcards in order of what will happen and srick them on a timeline. As soon as one activity is over, he can pull the flashcard out, like this he would know what is to come.
TIP: the timeline could be a wide strip of felt, such that the velcro can easily stick to it.
I hope that this will help. I used this method with autistic children, and with some it was successful. Good luck 
Today I,m very happy ,he stayed all day. last year his facalitater made him that schelud you told me,but in summerwas used to play sing nursery rhymes , take him to multi densory room , go in the swiming pool,he got too much attached. Most of all my husband and me went to weekend break and left him with his father.When I came back he did not let me not even to go to toilet .He gt upset and get tantrum.this mornig Isat made him the slide show before we left for the bus ,sat him near a girl he likes and she went down with him to class. that story telling realy works with these kids . thanks
Hi,
Glad to hear that he’s settling down. My son starts school next week and hopefully he’ll get used tothe routine soon. He’s very attached to me, since this summer we had a lot of fun together. Like you said he had swimming lessons, and multisensory, apart from doing a lot of fun activities together. Today is the first day of school of my other child - Leah - she didn’t cry but was scared of all the other children screaming and crying! IHobestly I felt guilty leaving her…she’s still young 1 year 10 months. But anyway hopefully she’ll get to enjoy playschool. c ya all. take care.
Im not sure how to use this thing, Please help. 