Up to 50 local children with Down syndrome and their families will receive early intervention, help and support thanks to a grant to the Down Syndrome Training and Support Service.

The £15,000 grant will fund the early development groups for children with Down syndrome aged birth to five or six. Children attend a two-hour group session every fortnight with a parent and work through a programme of specific activities. These include work on speech sounds, interaction, signing, sitting, walking, hand-eye coordination, early language, reading, number and feeding skills.

The programme is a five year one and prepares a child with Down syndrome for school. Nursery and school staff are encouraged to attend sessions, especially as the children begin school, which allows the charity to share best practice.

The aim is for the majority of children born with Down syndrome to enter their local mainstream school as, long term, the children can grow into adults, who will live their life in mainstream society. This funding will make a significant difference to the lives of these children. Providing them with the opportunity to be better prepared for, and therefore better included, in their local mainstream school.

All children with Down syndrome are disadvantaged in that they are born with a learning disability. Many have additional medical conditions, such heart and bowel problems requiring surgery, poor hearing, visual impairments, and poor mobility. These factors can significantly impact early development and reduce societal expectation and input. Without targeted support, this often leads to discrimination, exclusion, and a lack of opportunity as people see the disability rather than the child.

Families adjusting to a new diagnosis often experience grief, anxiety, and social isolation. When a child with Down syndrome is born the paediatrician or special needs health visitor will encourage them to contact the charity. When they contact the charity, they are offered a home visit where they can chat and ask the questions, they need to ask in the comfort of their own home. They are then invited to attend an early development group.

The intervention groups are delivered by experienced and specially trained practitioners. They also provide vital support to parents, providing not only a time for practitioners to share knowledge and strategies to enable intervention to be continued at home, but also, an opportunity for parents to share mutual concerns and experiences. The centre is a place where they ‘belong’ in a world that in the first year of their child’s life, can feel very prejudiced and isolating. If a parent experiences negativity, this impacts on the acceptance, expectations, and progress of their child.

The charity offers transport for families, who would otherwise struggle to attend and provide practical, step-by-step support to help families become experts in their child’s condition giving them the confidence to navigate, and if necessary, challenge the education and healthcare systems.