Vision
People who have Down Syndrome often have difficulty with their eyesight, withup to half needing to wear glasses. It is important to make sure they have regular eye tests and checks.
It can also be tricky to find glasses that fit and stay on for children and adults with Down Syndrome, primarily because they often have noses with flat bridges, with absent or small nasal bones. Many of our families have recommended Tomato glasses as providing a good fit, while others are able to find 'off the shelf' glasses in their local opticians.
Even those who have correctly prescribed and fitted glasses will have lower visual acuity than others, meaning that everything they see lacks detail and contrast.
In education it is important that teachers are aware of this and might find the following adjustments helpful, to help with reading and writing skills:
- Children should write in black PEN, not pencil
- Print should be enlarged to 2-4 times larger than other children in the same class
- Faint lines on the page should be emboldened in black pen so they are readily visible
- Text should have a plain light background (no text overlying images)
- Print should be BIG and BOLD
- Images in learning materials should be of high contrast.
A tip to teachers is that making sure that all materials are readily visible to a child with Down Syndrome is not detrimental to the other children. So if all material is big and bold, there may be no need to do extra work to modify material for one child.
Since the visual deficit in children with down’s syndrome is permanent and will become increasingly significant as a child progresses through school, and the work becomes more demanding, it is essential that the visual problems are included in every child’s Education and Health Care Plan.
Hearing
Hearing plays an important part in children’s development and learning, especially speech and language and social skills. People with Down Syndrome need to have their hearing tested regularly- ask your paediatrician or GP if you have concerns about your child's hearing.
Many people with Down Syndrome need input from audiology due to conductive (from glue ear or a build up of earwax) or sensorineural hearing loss.
For those who use a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA), our families have recommended https://www.bahaaccessoriesuk.com as a good place to buy fun spare headbands and hats.