To a teacher about a child with Down's syndrome

You are my first teacher. Let's get to know each other.

My syndrome is not a disease, it is a set of signs and differences.

I want to tell you about myself.

Often people first notice differences in my appearance: slanted eyes, flattened nose and open mouth. Believe me, in 10 minutes of communication, my differences will become invisible. We are all different. In general, I'm much more like my parents than other people with trisomy are.
I am not as agile as my peers are.
I need a little more time to think and answer.
I am constantly developing, but learning is harder for me than for my peers, so I will know and be able to do less.

I also love to socialize, I feel the attitude of other people towards me very well and appreciate it. I have been looking forward to this day and am glad to be able to study with everyone.

I have prepared some tips and ideas to help us become friends.

Tips and ideas to help us communicate

Call me by name, even if you are telling someone else about me. Do not single me out with special words, even affectionate ones, such as "sunny child."

Talk to me, take a moment during breaks to say something to me. Your attention is very important to me!
Speak to me in simple sentences, clearly, with small pauses. This makes it easier for me to understand you.
I will not answer immediately, but after a certain time and briefly. Perhaps my language will not be very imaginative and beautiful. I try very hard, but so far, this is the only way it works.

Tips and ideas to help me learn and become independent

At the inclusive resource centre, they will write "Conclusions" for me, and at school, they will draw up an individual development plan. My parents will have to sign it. This will help the school and my parents to agree on the purpose and outcomes of the study.

Talk to my parents. They know me and my capabilities very well. And you know better how to teach me to read and write. This way, you can work together to find ways and methods of learning.
At first, I will not show everything I can do. It will take a lot of effort to adapt.

I will have one-on-one tutoring to help me (and you) with my studies.
I get tired faster than my classmates. Fatigue manifests itself in different ways: I can lie down with my head on the desk, make a lot of noise, or stagger around. Many children do this in the first year. I can rest my head on the desk or go to the resource room. This is how I learn to cope with fatigue and learn the rules of behaviour.
We will have more success if we rely on my strengths and talents.
In many ways, I am like my classmates: sometimes I will be lazy, and sometimes I will be diligent. Evaluate me fairly according to the criteria of the individual development plan. I will be happy or sad, but I will feel equal.
Give me different assignments, such as handing out notebooks, helping to deliver lunches or milk. I will get a lot of pleasure from doing them. It's not a shame to enjoy simple things.
If ever I ask you why I'm not like everyone else, tell me that I have an extra chromosome, it's called Down's syndrome. However, I am learning and developing. People know very little about Down's syndrome and sometimes say offensive things. Please support me. Be sure to talk to those who call bad names. I can't do this alone!
Do you know what I'm thinking about? If people decided that the norm was intelligence, like Einstein, we would all be in trouble. Therefore, it turns out that only I was outside the line. Let's assume that the norm is when we are all different.

Tips and ideas for parent-teacher conferences

At the first parent-teacher conference, give my parents the floor. They will tell about me in simple words. Adults are often afraid of the unknown. If they tell them about me, a lot of things will become clear.
Clarify that our class is not correctional or weak, but inclusive. All other children will study according to the regular program.
Remember, you don't need the other parents' permission for me to go to school. Each parents make decisions only about their child.

Tips and ideas to help me make friends with kids in the classroom

Tell the children that I am studying in a separate program, I have separate classes and notebooks, but I am a student and a member of a common team like everyone else.
I can be teased. Not all adults are tolerant by nature, and children copy them. Let the children in our class copy you. Stop aggression.

Say out loud what I am good at. Children aged 6-8 believe their teacher.
Offer interesting games together. I want to believe with everyone else, but I need a little more time to start. Help me get started, and I'll take it from there. This way I will truly become a member of the team.

Do you know what my dream is? I want to be at school, to communicate and learn about the world. We don't know what the future holds. We will all become different people: happy and not so happy, with a respectable job or a very simple one. I believe that my future does not depend on chromosomes. Please believe it too.