That Tongue!

One characteristic of people with Down's Syndrome is the larger tongue which can protrude. You can assist your child to keep their tongue in in many ways.

Firstly, improve the muscle tone of the tongue by introducing little exercises - touching the tongue to the upper and lower lips and side to side. If they are unwilling to do this, you can make it more interesting by smearing a little something tasty around the mouth - a few chocolate sprinkles or some jam work wonders! Brush the tongue gently with a soft toothbrush - this stimulates blood flow and the muscles.

When your child is small, just gently poke the tongue back in the mouth with your (clean!) finger and perhaps tell them quietly to put their tongue away. Don't make a big issue about it, just turn it into something you do as a matter of course throughout the day.

Mouth exercises also help towards speech development. A tongue that is better controlled will mean clearer speech when the time comes. When your child is slightly older, introduce little games such as blowing through a straw to make bubbles, blowing a feather into the air, drinking through a straw, making funny noises - 'ooooooo-eeeeeee-aaaarrr' - singing Old MacDonald works well for that one!

Your Baby - Make the Most of the Day

You can begin helping your baby right from the very first weeks. Babies with Down's Syndrome are described as 'floppy' with poor muscle tone but it is simple to introduce little routines into your day to improve this. During a bath, encourage them to kick and splash.Afterwards, massage the arms and legs with baby lotion in order to give the muscles a mini work out. When playing with your baby on your lap or in the cot, turn it into a little exercise session by bringing the arms or legs forward and back. As your baby grows and shows an interest in what is going on around them, make their world so interesting they want to get at it - put a toy they like just a couple of centimetres out of their reach so they have to stretch to reach it.

When the baby is lying on the floor on a blanket, put something crunchy like crumpled paper underneath so that wriggling about causes a lovely noise. Use anything around you that makes a good noise or feels different - furry, bobbly, shiny, a plastic bottle filled with beans, use your imagination. It doesn't have to cost anything and your baby will get the stimulation to both mind and body from the experience.

I used to carry my daughter in a sling while I was doing the housework when she was tiny so that she was a part of what I was doing and could see the world around her. I could talk to her as I worked and she also got the added bonus of the movement together with the security of being close to her mother.

Take your baby anywhere and everywhere - each new experience stimulates the mind and senses which in turn aids development. Lots of interaction with other people and children - this will get your baby used to all kinds of situations. One thing I have noticed with my own daughter and the children I have worked with is a sensitivity towards loud noises and crowds of people - you can begin to build up a tolerance to these kinds of situation by not avoiding them. My daughter is still not keen on crowds or busy shopping malls, but she will deal with it in a sensible way - no tantrums, no crying, no refusals to move as I have seen with other children with Downs. We can travel on planes, boats, trains because she has been exposed to these experiences right from babyhood. I worked with one child whose parents were unable to fly anywhere for a holiday because of her complete meltdown when faced with aeroplanes, which was indulged - tell me, would you prefer to fly to your holiday destination in three hours or drive across Europe with three small children for two days?