any experience people here who dealt with down syndrome?

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My son name is Kobe, he is five years old. I need all the tips I can get. I think other people with autism who have children with down syndrome, can give it.

My son problem are pretty moderate to severe.

1. Still not potty train
2. non verbal
3. refuse to drink form a cup only bottle
4. misbehave and spanking doesn't work.
5. refuse to use eating devices. ( unless I really force him)

Kobe is in OT, Speech and every other therapy out there. The only change I see is he makes a lot of sounds now, not words sounds.
If anyone can help thanks a lot.

( I wrote this before and the wrong section.)

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A mommy who lives with autism parenting a little boy with Down syndrome and autism that is her world. and expecting a new little angle.

Sign language.

Um, I read a thing about potty training the other day, actually. It was with ABA methods not with a DS person, but a person with severe autism. The method the writer used was in half hour or hour increments. For those increments, starting out small, have the child wear underwear. Enforce with a positive reinforcer, like candy or something. Eventually, increase the times.
1. If he is good with the underwear for a half hour, try another half hour. Reinforce.
2. If he isn't, on with the diapers again. Try try again.
The author, Ms. Chass, found that it took ages to get her son to make any improvement, like 6 to 8 months, but the result was worth it, as she was able to get him completely toilet trained. I can get you the title and author's full name of the book if you'd like. It had way more detail.

Hello! Glad you guys liked it. The book was "One-on-One" by Marylin Chassman. (I got the last name wrong before.)
I'm currently learning sign on [url=Lifeprint]www.lifeprint.com[/url]. They may have some resources there. They certainly have a dictionary!

Good luck with your Kobe!

As far as toilet training goes you could try what I did with my Autie. She was getting skin infections in her diaper area so I had to get her out of diapers. I bought some cloth training pants these are the best http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_inf ... ts_id=1713 the Little Beetle learners. They are kind of expensive so you can also look up Bummis cloth training pants, you can find them cheaper. I was lucky and my daughter was dry all night so I did not have to use a diaper at night either. She had accidents but that is to be expected. She is now almost six and Ive been doing this since she was three and still non verbal. She now will go to the toilet, dragging me with her, but sometimes I still have to watch for signs that she needs to go as she will be distracted. Even though your son is Downs he should still be ok with this method. Just dont be too hard on him and expect accidents. Its more like training yourself to take him for awhile but he will get the idea soon enough.
As far as the discipline goes he may not be understanding what you want of him and may seem to be naughty because of that. Most Downs kids are happy, sweet and affectionate but they can also get frustrated and angry just as Autistics can by the lack of ability to communicate.
What sort of physical problems does he have? (most Downs syndrome people, especially if they are severe, have other physical problems)

I have a brother who has Down's syndrome and autism. He is 30 years old now. He took a long time to potty train, and he has never been with out the occassional accident. Depending upon the severity of the Down's syndrome, potty training may not be entirely possible. What my mother did, and continues to do even today - is to time his food and drink so he can be taken to the bathroom when he needs to go. His eating and drinking are scheduled, and amazingly enough his bathroom needs can be reliably scheduled as well. You just have to be observant and even write it down - when he eats and then time how long afterwards until he actually goes.

I think someone in my college has down syndrome and he seems pretty smart so I wouldn't under estimate your child.

- Mich.

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Blint.