Down Syndrome one of the common Intellectual Disability.

Down Syndrome: Language Impairment

Shiwangi Sharma, Pre-service Teacher, Working towards Bachelor of Early

childhood education (Birth-5).

Australian Catholic University

Lecturer Feedback on submitted outline (refer appendix 1.1)

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 2

Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is more complex than what it looks like, it is a genetic condition caused by

having an extra chromosome and most common intellectual disability that we know of. DS is

the part of the intellectual disability and often leads to have a speech which is unclear.

According to Gavin (2018) the symptoms of DS varies from child to child but language

impairments is the common. In such cases, it becomes difficult to identify what difficulty

child might be facing while he is growing older as a child takes minimum of 3 to 4 years to

develop communicable literacy skills. Sometime disability is overlooked by delay in the

learning. From the following research in 2001 by Department of Education, Science and

training (DEST), 3.5% of the children from the school age are identify with the disability.

Keywords: Down Syndrome (DS).

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 3

Child Profile

Aleksander is in year 2 and currently studying in local primary school 3 days a week

and additionally attends special school. He is very enthusiastic and creative which is evident

in his problem- solving skills. He is very efficient carrying out his daily task but has difficult

with speech. It becomes hard for him to connect words, organize sentence and clearly explain

his ideas but he never gives up. He persistently tries to explain even if he gets overwhelmed.

He has father and one older sister who works in the real estate. His dad has struggled

a lot to get him enrolled in the mainstream school around the corner from his house but due to

unjustifiable hardship Aleksander’s enrolment got rejected. But after trying in few other

schools Aleksander managed to get into one of the mainstream schools for 3 days. The school

accepted his enrolment as they have access to speech-language pathologist 3 days a week for

another child in different grade. For further detail (refer to appendix1.3).

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 4

In this section, I will be critically anaylsing the legislations, policies, strategies,

curriculum supporting not only children with Down syndrome but also with all the

disability and impairments.

Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)1992

This act states it is unlawful to discriminate any person on the basis of their disability.

It includes the school and it becomes unlawful if the school discriminate a child on basis of

his/her disability. DDA has not only put these laws in place but also covered all the

impairments which are not considered by other legislations. This is further supported by

Dempsey (2003) that, there are some impairments suppressed by Australian educational

settings but supported by DDA and recognition of the disability that a person might had or

will have in the future.

However, when it comes to interpreting DDA it becomes complex for people and

schools to understand (Foreman and Kelly,2017). While the current legislation and policies

state that it is possible for the child to get enrolled in their school in their community only

after considering variety of factors related to enrolment. The education authorities take these

considerations as the advantage to refuse the enrolment of the child by providing unjustifiable

adjustments/hardships that argue that students need assistance that is beyond their control

(Human rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2003).

Australian Disability Standards for Education (2005)

Creating a claim for unjustifiable hardship is a method for education providers to

escape from supporting and teaching a student with disability. Families and children were
DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 5

only left with enrolling their child in special educational settings. To ensure these families

and children are supported, Australian Disability standards for education intend to elaborate

more on the guidelines but same as DDA, these standards are not widely known.

In addition to this, the involvement of federal and state funding, extend the process for

the families to get the funding and it risks the future of the child. Due to absence of

immediate link of policies and legislations for determined outcomes makes the standards to

be ineffective in the society (Australian Federation of Disability Organisation,2014).

Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australian (2008)

1. Melbourne Declaration aim to improve educational outcomes through promoting equity

and excellence.
2. States that young Australian should become confident, successful, create, active and
informed citizens.
3. It incorporates schools, government sectors, parents, carers and families and believe it is
their responsibility to achieve their goals.

This Declaration does recognize the importance of equity in the system and how it

effects the economy. It asks all the sectors to collaborate together to achieve two common

goals. But there is no goal or statements that supports the children with the disability in the

society and educational system. As its main agenda is to provide guidelines to the educational

sectors and government to produce essential worker, citizen and individuals with particular

qualities and disposition ( Kneyber, 2015).

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 6

Curriculum and Teaching Strategies

ACARA, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2013) (See

appendix1.2 )

1. Aims to provide best quality framework, world-class curriculum and assessment.

2. The assessments are developed to tests children knowledge in accordance to whether

the children are developing necessary skills, for instance literacy and numeracy.

However, ACARA has the strongest curriculum and provides guidelines to new

curriculum, but it doesn’t mention how to support children with intellectual disability within

the given curriculum. ACARA does recognize the adjustment for the children who are gifted,

talented and but doesn’t provide any information for children with intellectual disability

(Foreman and Kelly,2017). As education is not only about getting access to the schools but

identifying and improvising the barriers a learner might face and the difficulties that will

restrict inclusive practices (UNESCO,2012).

The Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA)(2001)

Victorian Curriculum is aligned with Australian Curriculum and is the reflection of

the Victorian standards and the priorities. This curriculum is unique in itself it is structed in

levels of learning achievement and not years of schools. Which makes it easy to assess the

growth of the children but similarly like ACARA, there is no recognition of difficulties a

child will face while learning under these strands. It does allow children with disability to

have broad option of learning but minimize their actual growth and hence, they develop lack

of understanding of the concepts and stay behind in the curriculum.

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 7

Teaching strategies

The meaning and the practices of inclusion has evolved through many years. With the

help of many legislations, policies and teaching strategies the society has started being

inclusive towards people with disability but there are still few areas that raise the concern

about full inclusion. What does it mean to have full inclusion when segregated classroom,

resource room, special classrooms for children with disability for the big role in the education

sector. The traditional approach towards inclusion remain the center of the arguments

(Osgood,2005). To overcome these challenges teacher and teaching strategies play crucial

role as it defines what students should learn without any discrimination and highlights the

progress of learning and work alongside with guidelines given in legislation and policies.

I aim to provide a curriculum which will cater the need of all the children. I will use

curriculum overlapping (refer to appendix 1.4 and 1.5) as one of my technique to develop

inclusive curriculum. In this curriculum children like Aleksander and children with various

disabilities will participate in mainstream classroom but will have different goals in

accordance to their learning growth. As many researches has argued that including children

with language impairments distract the goal for the whole class will become invalid with such

inclusive approach towards children with intellectual disabilities.

In accordance to provide inclusive education and support inclusion, changes in the

curriculum and strategies are important. Refer to appendix 1.4 and 1.5 for examples of

adjustments in curriculum and teaching strategy.

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 8

In addition to this, to provide further support, I will be collaborating with the

1. Speech language pathologist: working alongside with the speech language

pathologist to achieve the common goal will result in positive outcomes.

According Cowling (2005) intervention with specialists empowers the teacher and

increase the chances of successful inclusion in the mainstream school.

2. Family: Involving and assisting with the parents to set up their goals and to

understand their expectations. This will enable me to share child’s learning and

setting up future goals for the child. Also, child’s past history and Individual

educational program can be discussed.

3. Support staff: Including support staff and working relatively with the staff as a

team focusing on one particular goal. The staff will add into extra help and I will

be able to give on to one correspondence not only to Aleksander but to everyone.

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 9

Conclusion

Inclusion is the wide term and its meaning varies from person to person. In addition to

this, its practice differ and the implementation of inclusive environment depends upon how

society sees disability as. With time information on Disability has changed and evolved but

schemas around has transferred from one generation to another. At my point view, we should

develop inclusive approaches which is effective for the people who are actually affected.

They should be involved in the process of implementation of legislations and policies. In this

way, we can get better outcomes from these strategies.

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 10

Appendix1

1.1 TEACHER FEEDBACK ON SUBMITTED OUTLINE

1.I need to see the child’s strengths and what they are good at in the child profile as well as
the specific challenges they face in an educational setting. Write it like a short story about the
child.

2. Take care about how you describe the child to avoid labelling. See the Cologan reading
week 2 for why this is important. Try to use the concepts from the Srinivasan reading such as
‘othering’ to explain how the child might be viewed in society or maybe by their peers and
what further challenges this might present for the child in an educational setting.

3.Also, what support does the child get from their family - who are the family? and what are
the family strengths and challenges?

4.Who else will you collaborate with?

5.What specific curriculum will you change or differentiate and what will you change in the
learning environment. Be specific rather than general.

1.2 ACARA: ACARA curriculum can be used all over the Australia, but it also gives

opportunities to the states to develop their own curriculum if their curriculum frameworks

meet the requirement of the national curriculum.

1.3 Child profile

Meet Aleksander

Hi I am Aleksander. I am in Year 2 to and currently studying in primary school.

Something about me, I love building machines from anything I can put hands on. I enjoy

being around people and going to school. I am very enthusiastic and creative. My teacher say

I have disposition towards learning which she has observed from my problem-solving skills.

But sometimes all my strengths have been overlooked by the fact that I have Down

syndrome. Though I don’t struggle while carrying out daily tasks but because of my low

muscle tone, I have jaw movement difficulty and I am hard to understand by people when I

speak. According to Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan (2010), I have lack of
DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 11

speech intelligibility. It is very hard for me to connect words, organize into a sentence and

express my thoughts due to lack of understanding of how words work. Sometimes I have

labelled as the child who can’t speak properly. I feel sad when my inability to speak

represents me rather than my strengths.

However, I have always kept myself motivated to overcome my difficulty with the

help of speech-language pathologist (SLP), family and teacher.

Meet Aleksander Family:

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1.4

Teaching Implementatio Short term goal Long term goal Method of Curriculum area:
strategy n (Adjustment to (Adjustment to delivery VCAA
the curriculum the curriculum For rest of the
for Aleksander) for Aleksander) class.

The The experience 1. Aleksande 1. Aleksande 1. Using 3. Draw connections

between personal
language approach r to able to r to speak scaffoldin experiences and
experienc includes shared speak long g and the worlds of texts,
and share
e events, short sentences modelling responses
others(VCELT251)
with

approach excursions and sentences. 2. Aleksande to support 4. Understand that

events related to 2. Aleksande r to the child languages have
different written and
every day. r to enhance to visual
communication
Modification to connect his detailing systems, different
oral traditions and
the strategy: and vocabular the different ways of
Aleksander and understan y activity, constructing
meaning(VCELA27
including d understan ideas and 0)

children will be formation d thoughts.

asked to list the Connectio 2. Using
their favourite sentences. n b/w previous
activities and written knowledg
explain in few text and e to build
words. words. new
vocabular
y.

Modification: Modification in the teaching strategy, (language experience approach)

Aleksnader gets easily overwhelmed on the excursions and field trips and it becomes

difficult for him to remember the information that effects his writing and speaking skills. Just

to build his confidence and literacy skills. Fields experiences and excursions will be replaced

by the past schemas that Aleksander already known of and constructing knowledge on them

to enhance his language skills.

Adjustment to the curriculum: The above language plan is set up for Aleksander, using

curriculum overlapping and whole-class approach, where Aleksander doesn’t have to be

segregated to accomplish literacy strands. He will participate in the class but will have

adjusted curriculum goal. (add teaching standards).

 DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 13

Teaching Implemen Semester goal Short-term Curriculum area Method of

strategy -tation (Adjustment to goal(Adjustmen (For rest of the delivery
curriculum for t to curriculum class)
Aleksander) for Aleksander)
Setting up class Developing Aleksander to be able 1. 1. Modelling
Peer-mediated to explain his thoughts
Listen to and
in peers for complex literacy contribute to conversations in order for
approach: same task but skills and using it with more clarity and and discussions to share children to
In this approach a confidence with his information and ideas and
variable goals. with his peer. negotiate in collaborative understand
peer will be set up peer.
situations and use interaction what is
for Aleksander to skills, including active happening.
support him with listening and clear, coherent
communications (VCELY275 2. Using
relevant tasks. ) instructions
According to Kelly explicit
and Neilands (2017) approach
pairing a child with to give
peer supports their provide
learning and helps in children
clarification of the with
concepts as children directions.
learn, imitate and
observe from one
another.

1.5

Teaching strategy: This teaching strategy require less modification as it not

only include Aleksander but support the needs of all children.

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 14

Adjustment to curriculum: adjustment to curriculum plays the crucial role in

order to develop inclusive classroom. Aleksander will participate in the class

and will achieve different goal.

Reference

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2013). Retrieved

from/vhttps://acaraweb.blob.core.windows.net/resources/EALD_overview_and_Advice_revis

ed_February_2014.pdf.

Australian Federation of Disability Organisation. (2013). Senate policy Report and

Recommendations. Submission No. 46 to Senate inquiry into education of students with

disability.

Cowling, V., Costin, J., Davidson-Tucks, R., Elser, E., Chapman, A., and Niessan, J. (2005).

Responding to disruptive behaviours in schools: collaborative and capacity building for

intervention. Australian e-journal for the advancement of mental health. 43(3), 1-8.

Dempsey, Ian. (2003). The impact of the disability discrimination act on school students

with a disability in Australia. Centre for special education and disability studies, University

of Newcastle, Australia. Vol 8, pp.37-46.

DOWN SYNDROME ONE OF THE COMMON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY 15

Department of Education, Science and Training(2002a). Submission No. 178 to senate

inquiry into the education of students with disabilities. Canberra: Senate Employement,

Workplace Relations and Education References Committii. http://www.aph.gov.au/

sentae/committee/eet_ctte/ed_students_withdisabilities/submissions/sublist.htm

Disability Discrimination Act 1992(cth). Available from

https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00763

Foreman, Phill and Kelly, Micheal Arthur(2018). Inclusion in Action. South Melbourne.

Cengage Learning Australia

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (2003). Decisions in Education

complaint cases. Retrieved from http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/education/

education.html

Kneyber, R. (2015). On neoliberalism and how it travels: Interview with Stephen Ball.

Chapter 3 in EVERS, J., and Kneyber, R. (Eds). Flip the system: changing education from

the group up. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. (2008). Minister

council on Education, Employment, training and Youth Affairs. pp.1-18.

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2001).Victoria State Government.

https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au
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