6 Effective Teaching Strategies For Empowering Students with Down Syndrome in Montessori Classroom
23rd August 2024
Montessori learning environment and materials support every kind of child in the classroom. It also helps neuro-divergent students with conditions like Down syndrome with its simplistic and minimalistic classroom setup, which brings down the anxiety and frustration level while absorbing too much stimuli at once.
Montessori way of teaching isolates every task for students and helps them to focus on it completely and is self-correcting which helps them to complete it easily Those teachers who have pursued courses like Online Special Education Courses, know it really well.
Let’s explore this blog post to know some of the most effective strategies of how to teach students with Down syndrome in the Montessori classroom to cater to their special learning needs.
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So, without any further delay, let’s get started.
What is Down Syndrome?
It’s one of the neuro-divergent syndromes characterized by the presence of an extra chromosome. Normally, individuals are born with 46 chromosomes; however, children with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of those chromosomes, chromosome 21. This additional chromosome affects the development of the child's body and brain, posing both mental and physical obstacles.
Individuals with Down syndrome typically have a mildly to moderately low IQ and share physical characteristics such as a flattened face, almond-shaped eyes, a short neck, and low muscle tone.
How Does Down Syndrome Impact Children?
Down syndrome majorly affects student’s learning abilities in multiple ways. Like-
- Student’s motor skills and speech skills might get delayed because of mild to moderate intellectual impairment.
- Due to Down syndrome children’s small muscle activities are also likely to be impacted.
- Down syndrome in children also affects working and short-term memory-related difficulties which makes it challenging for them to process, access, and have a proper understanding of any learning information compared to other children.
- Students with Down syndrome also require additional help related to activities like- grooming and dressing.
- They may also have behavioural issues and may require additional visual and auditory accommodations and requires additional support from teachers in their classroom learning activities.
How To Teach & Support Students with Down Syndrome In Montessori Classroom?
Let’s get to know some of the effective strategies of how you can teach students with Down syndrome and how you can support them effectively.
Make Students Social Skill Role Models
It has been observed that children with Down syndrome tend to have good social skills. Then, why not use their strength as an opportunity and make them role models for social skills in the Montessori classroom settings for their peers? This will improve their confidence significantly which can also help them to thrive in other aspects of life.
Encourage Them To Learn At Their Own Pace
The Montessori Method empowers children to establish their own pace for learning. Applying this idea allows children with Down syndrome to take the time they need to adjust to a project and eliminates the frustration that comes with feeling pressured.
Furthermore, if children with Down syndrome find it difficult to concentrate on a certain task, they should be given the option to switch to another task for a period of time and return to the first when they feel more capable of focusing.
By providing students with Down Syndrome as much time as required to process language and respond accordingly can significantly improve their information comprehension skills.
Utilize Visual Aids
One of the best ways to support students with Down syndrome is to understand and process information with the help of visual aids like - pictures, demonstrations, and illustrations.
Learn, some of the best apps for students with special needs:
Motivate Them
Although the Montessori classroom setup encourages intrinsic motivation in the students. It is still suggested that as a responsible teacher, you must consider fostering a sense of motivation within students with Down syndrome, which helps them engage with their learning process.
Provide Them With The Appropriate Support
For students with Down syndrome, providing appropriate support in a Montessori classroom setting is essential to their academic success. To avoid muscle exhaustion, you should consider providing the child with a variety of workspaces to choose from that include an adequate table height and foot support. When a student with Down syndrome works on the floor, having something to lean against will help to support their back.
Be Warm & Encouraging
Students with Down syndrome might get frustrated or feel anxious from time to time. As a responsible teacher, you must listen, acknowledge, and support them, which will help them to reach their full potential.
Teach and Support Students with Down Syndrome Effectively
Students with Down syndrome generally face many challenges both physical and emotional level. In general, the Montessori learning environment tends to support students with different abilities, but supporting students with Down syndrome requires additional support. Consider going through the above-mentioned blog to learn some of the effective strategies of how to teach students with Down syndrome.
If you want to learn more effective ways to support special needs students, Then, consider pursuing courses like Online Special Education Courses, where you will get assistance from top expert trainers.
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