Valentines..teaching life skills and more to your child with down syndrome.

Perhaps you have a young child with down syndrome and you are wondering what they are capable of doing when they are older.    Let me show you what my kids did.These guys made cards for each other.  The obvious skill Sam practiced was handwriting and grammar.  He also had to organize his thoughts for the verse he wrote.  Computer generated cards are great for honing those computer skills.

Here is April’s card to me.  Having your kids pick out their own cards lets them practice making choices.  Sometimes we forget that making a choice is a vital life skill.  Children with special needs have so many choices made for them that when they become adults it might become difficult to make their own.

 

Here is the card April picked out, wrote , addressed, stamped and sent to her sister Jenny.April loves to bug her older sister.  Jenny blogged about it today here:

http://communicationskillsforlife.wordpress.com/

Valentines were everywhere on Monday.  We had fun buying them and making them and giving them and sending them but best of all receiving them. 

Valentines are a great way to practice handwriting, social skills, life skills and speech(see Jenny’s blog for an explanation).  Missed making Valentines?  Not to worry St. Patrick’s Day is coming up along with Easter, Flag Day, Fourth of July………………..and of course birthdays.  Have fun practicing all those skills.