Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that is present at birth and can impact a person’s ability to learn and develop. People with Down syndrome may experience physical growth delays, characteristic facial features, and mild to moderate intellectual disability. Children with Down syndrome often have a hard time recognizing nonverbal cues and facial expressions, which leads them to struggle with social skills. As a parent or caregiver of a child with Down syndrome, it’s important to help your child develop their social skills.
Children with Down syndrome often have a hard time recognizing nonverbal cues and facial expressions, which leads them to struggle with social skills. As a parent or caregiver of a child with Down syndrome, it’s important to help your child develop their social skills.
It’s important to expose your child to different environments as they grow up, so they can learn how to interact with different people. Take your child to the park and encourage them to play with other children. Keep an eye out for situations where the other kids might be struggling with empathy or expressing emotions. When this happens, take time afterward to teach your child about what just happened and why it was not OK.
Your child may struggle with making friends because they tend to not realize when others are uncomfortable or frustrated. Encourage them to ask questions about how someone feels if they’re unsure. Teach them about body language, and work on reading non-verbal cues together by watching TV shows together and pointing out when characters look angry or sad.
Most children with Down syndrome have a hard time recognizing nonverbal cues and facial expressions, which leads them to struggle with social skills. As a parent or caregiver of a child with Down syndrome, it’s important to help your child develop their social skills.
There are many ways to help your child develop their social skills, including practicing behavior at home and in therapy sessions. Some parents also choose to enroll their child in a social group for children with Down syndrome. These groups can be a great way for them to practice social skills in a supportive environment.
While your child with Down syndrome is developing their social skills, there may be times when they act in ways that can be challenging for you to understand. By understanding what they are feeling and why they are acting a certain way, you can help your child develop social skills in an appropriate manner.
For example, perhaps your child becomes upset and cries because they don’t have the skill to express themselves verbally. While this reaction is upsetting for you as a parent or caregiver, it’s important to take the time to recognize that your child is overwhelmed and doesn’t have the social skills necessary to communicate their feelings.
In these cases, it’s important to provide support for your child by helping them calm down and showing them that you understand how they are feeling. For example, if your child is frustrated because they can’t communicate through verbal means, you could encourage them to use sign language or picture cards.
Once your child has calmed down and expressed their frustration in a non-verbal way, give them positive reinforcement such as a high five or saying “Good job!” This will reinforce positive behavior in the future.