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Speech development is complicated for people with Down syndrome. Many of the physical characteristics caused by Trisomy 21 can directly affect the way you speak.
This can be due to hearing, muscle tone, facial shape, and learning and memory challenges. The Canadian Down Syndrome Resource Foundation lists other possible and potentially important diagnoses, such as epilepsy, neurological differences, or autism spectrum disorder.
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Down Syndrome Education International Most children with the syndrome usually have delayed speech and their vocabulary grows more slowly. Compared to normal kids, mastering grammar and pronunciation rules is a challenge.
This may mean that during adolescence and adulthood, communication is restricted because They take longer to coordinate the muscles that make speech possible Outside of the immediate family, it may be difficult to understand, and there may be sounds that are not pronounced, such as c, qok, and there may be stuttering.
It has also been observed that speech may not reflect the communication abilities of children, young people, or adults with Down syndrome because By using sign language or other alternatives such as apps, they are able to express complex and complete ideas. Despite not being able to express them verbally.
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But many people with Down syndrome can learn to speak and use their voices with time and guided practice. Regina Sequeiros, speech therapist, creator of the Oro-Postural-Sensory Integration (IOPS) concept for children and adults People who have problems with function, movement or posture.
Sequeiros is providing IOPS training in Ecuador through the Cerro Azul Rotary Club of Guayaquil in 2023 and 2024. The techniques he teaches include recordingused to improve speech by Posture control.
“We know that posture is partially affected in children with Down syndrome, but By controlling posture, you can change articulation, lip closure, phonation, and phonation-breath coordination.” The IOPS method was developed by Sequeiros in 2010 to treat different types of motor and oral disorders and has been adapted for children with Down syndrome.
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She explains that one of the main needs of people with Down syndrome is the motor production of spoken language. They need help articulating speech, coordinating breathing with speech, articulating one phoneme with another to form a word, and articulating one word with another to form a thought.
This work is done in stages. If the main defect is the respiratory system, treatment should focus on this. If it is motor coordination, then the focus must be on the phonatory joint muscles. Or perhaps the speed of speech production is too fast.
“Here begins the role of the speech therapist or speech therapist, who conducts the assessment and determines the work plan,” Sequiros said Speech therapy begins at the age of two, but can be started as early as six months as a preventive measure. This is where nonverbal communication, eye contact, babbling, and orofacial movements are stimulated so that the child can close their lips better, move their tongue better, and coordinate their breathing better.
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The speech therapist explained that the work with the children was face-to-face, with a working group for each pupil, but it was important that the parents understood the process; a workshop was held for the family in Fasinarm in June this year to culminate the project.
What is the impact of timely interventions like this to improve their speech expression on children and adolescents with Down syndrome? “We first consider speech as another communication tool; some children do not speak or speak very little, and we have to accompany them at their stage of evolution. “
But in general, the earlier you start, the better. “There’s an evolutionary phase of neurodevelopment for speech and language. Working with a 10-year-old who has never been to rehab is different than working with him since he was two years old.”
The child’s team, family, and the educational center they attend must share treatment guidelines and follow them.
Sequeiros began working on neurorehabilitation for adults with complex neurological injuries and created IOPS to treat not only children, but also children, pointing out that all the techniques of this approach, including muscle, sensory and posture, are useful for both children and adults, not only for Down syndrome, but also for cerebral palsy, neurodevelopmental delays, head trauma, brain hypoxia or facial paralysis.
One of the tools is Audio recording or neuromuscular recording is used in speech therapy. The bandage is not only focused on the mouth, but extends to enable the person to stabilize the torso and head, all of which aids speech. There are different “cuts” or methods of applying the technique, each of which depends on the assessment.
“You have to work from the pelvis so that the person can swallow and speak better. When we listen to speech therapy, “We think speech happens only in the head, but it’s connected to the whole body posture,” Sequeiros comments that you can start with the basics: the child feels good, he has good control over his posture, and he maintains that posture while speaking.
And add other basic aspects:
- Intentions to communicate with your child. This does not mean repeating words to them. “Let them use their phones less, watch less screens. How interested am I in having my son talk to me? How interested am I in understanding him with words rather than through gestures? What should I, as an adult, advocate for to make space for speech to emerge? ” How do we remove space? “When someone asks a child what his name is and the father replies: ‘Manuel.’ When the child points out what he wants and the adult gives it to him without saying his name. These are very simple questions but can help a lot. Speech is a communicative act that must develop, and the interlocutor’s actions are for it to emerge. ”
- Even if you don’t believe it,” he added, “diet can affect speech because they share the same muscles and joints.” Another tip for families is to Avoid semi-solid or soft foods and instead eat harder, crunchier foods so that your mouth can gain better control and strength. When drinking liquids, do not use a straw.
Sequeiros regrets Verbal harms caused by small screen use, especially post-pandemic, harm children with Down syndrome and typically developing children alike. “There are postural disorders that affect the mouth and there are postural disorders that affect vision and hearing due to the use of headphones. Technology can be used as an educational or entertainment tool, but it has an exposure time, especially for children.” (six)
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