EARLY MATTERS E-NEWSLETTER

March 7th , 2014

The Four –Leaf Clover

Who knows why Down syndrome occurs? It can be compared to what happens in nature to a field of clover. Usually, we see 3 leaves on each clover. Once in a while,

however, we find a clover that has an extra leaf– making it a four-leaf clover. There is no obvious explanation– all of the cover plants few in the same soil, were exposed to the same sun and rain, etc. Mother Nature just decided to add an extra leaf to one of the clover in the clover patch. This

doesn’t make it better or not as good as the other clover. It just makes it different. Mother nature decided to add

another chromosome to that baby’s cells. It doesn’t make the baby better or not as good as the other babies– it just makes him or her different. And if you find one of those

babies, you are truly lucky for they are very special babies– who grow in to very special people.

Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day With Us!!

See the flyer on page 5

9902 Windisch Rd. West Chester

Date

This is a great time to have a little extra therapy for your child and extra talk time to other parents! The therapist who

will teach the class is wonderful and very helpful .

EARLY MATTERS MARCH CLASSES All Early Matters programs and classes are provided for parents and their child for fun and developmental growth at NO COST to

you. All the classes are taught with a licensed therapist or teacher. Siblings are welcome to join the classes with parent supervision.

RSVP to martha@dsagc.com or text /call 513-300-9323

Physical Therapy for Little Ones (ages 3 months to 3 years old)

ABC Pediatric Therapy, 4325 Red Bank Rd. Cincinnati 10-11am

No class in March due to the DSAGC CONFERENCE in West Chester , OH

This is a great time to have a little extra therapy for your child and extra talk time with other parents! The

therapist who will teach the class is wonderful and very helpful.

Physical Therapy for Little Ones (ages 3 months to 3 years old)

ABC Pediatric Therapy, 9902 Windisch Rd. West Chester, OH

March 15th (10:00 am—11:00 am)

This is a great time to have a little extra therapy for your child and extra talk time with other parents! The

therapist who will teach the class is wonderful and very helpful.

Sign language Class (ages 6 months to 5 years)

May 3rd 2825 Burnet Avenue Cicinnati, OH April 5th 4440 Glen Este Withamsville Rd. Cincinnati, OH

10:00 am—11:00 am This class is for parents, siblings and children who have Down syndrome. Signing can help a child with little or no

verbal skills. It can also help with behavior and frustration.

Dramakinetics Class (ages 3 to 5 years)

Montgomery Community Church, 11251 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH, Room

April 1st (6:30 pm -7:15 pm)

Use listening skills and learn to follow directions. The best part is the fun time for parents and siblings. Come and

enjoy the company of other parents!

Dramakinetics Class (ages 3 to 5 years)

DRAMAKINETICS of Cincinnati, 4222 Hamilton Ave Cincinnati, OH (parking behind church)

No class in March due to the DSAGC Conference in West Chester, OH

Use listening skills and learn to follow directions. The best part is the fun time for parents and siblings. Come and

enjoy the company of other parents!

Music Therapy Class (ages 3 to 5 years)

CINCINNATI CENTER FOR AUTISM, 305 Cameron Rd. Springdale, OH

March 12th (6:30pm-7:15 pm)

Group music, listening skills and much more!

Music Therapy Class (ages 3 to 5 years)

A Step Ahead Therapy Crestview Hills 2865 Chancellor Drive Suite 105 March 24th (6:30 pm-7:15pm)

Classes are now being held the 4th Monday of the month

Physical Therapy for Little Ones (ages 3 months to 3 years old)

A Step Ahead Therapy Crestview Hills 2865 Chancellor Drive, Suite 105

March 22nd (10:00-11:00 am)

This is a great time to have a little extra therapy for your child and extra talk time with other parents! The

therapist who will teach the class is wonderful and very helpful.

Communication Tips By: Ann Nobis

“Communication is the essence of interpersonal relationships.”

As parents, we are all so thrilled when our child is able to tell us, in some manner, what they want, what they see, what they think, what they feel. The child’s ability to do so may be verbal, non-verbal or through the use of some augmentative means. The important thing to remember is that communication is a process and has a purpose…having a basic need met…sharing who we are…sharing what we know…exploring possibilities. Also, as parents, since we are so invested in ensuring that our child learn to communicate, we sometimes have them “perform” to show people what they can do. Sometimes we talk for them or sometimes we tell them what to way. These are not bad things for us to do! All parents do these things. But, as parents of children who face communication challenges, it is essential that we help them to the next step of communicating for themselves…initiating, spontaneously commenting, spontaneous questioning, thinking through decision making processes and engaging in back and forth communication.

Following are some tips to help facilitate the process of communication and make it fun.

Encourage. Look toward your child when they are communicating. Smile, nod your head. Comment on what they have said or what they are gesturing. If they show you or tell you that their blocks fell down you can say “yes, I see your blocks fell down…what can you do now?” If they cry after getting a shot at the doctors you can say “yes, you are crying because it hurt. I am glad you told me how you feel.”

Guide. If your child is presented with a problem…i.e. can’t get his/her mittens on…reaches for the milk, but can’t get it…can’t write a letter A for homework…you, as a facilitator, can verbally “talk out” how you would do it.

Wait. We as parents and educators are often too quick to help out and do for our children and students. If our children don’t respond immediately, most people are tempted to jump in and repeat the message, question or answer for our children and students. For some, a responding time of 5, 10 or more seconds may be just the thing for real participation.

Observe. Although some communication partners like to have wait time, others are threatened by it and need some more assistance. As parents and teachers, we need to be good observers and know when to jump in to assist and when to sit and allow our partner time. Make a decision about what someone wants based on their non-verbal behavior. “I see you don’t like that choice because you frowned.”

Cloze statements. Cloze statements such as “Yes, and today for lunch you had ______” actually are less demanding and threatening than questions such as “What did you have for lunch?” These types of statements are easier for a new communicator to respond to.

Prompt. Sometimes, a gesture, a quiet verbal prompt, a picture, or a sign will be just the right cue to help the communication partner recall or get started. Too often we jump in and provide too much help.

Expand. Facilitate creative and expanded thinking by using such statements as “what else could you do?”, “what else could you use?”, “I might try ______”, “I remember before you tried _____.”

Laugh. Point out your own mistakes and laugh at yourself. “I can’t remember…”, “What did I ask?” “What did I want?” “Where am I going?” “What do I need?”

Remember, don’t only test and question, as those strategies alone discourage, demand, limit, control the communication process and create stress. Facilitate and be a collaborative partner the encourages, guides, assists, and teaches to promote creativity, positive self, decision making and conversation!

Reprinted with permission.

The City of Mason will be the first of its surrounding

communities to make the proclamation that March 21,

2014 is World Down Syndrome Day.

THE WHEN: The proclamation will be made at the upcoming city council meeting on Monday, March 10,

2014 at 7pm. The meeting will be held in Council Chambers in the Mason Municipal Center, 6000 South Ma-

son Montgomery Rd. We want as many families to come as possible to join in thanking the city for showing

its commitment in celebrating and valuing the lives and equality of people with Down syndrome.

THE WHY: By doing this officially, the city is showing its continued support to the fundamental human and

civil rights of people with Down syndrome. This proclamation sheds light on continuing to improve the lives

of people with Ds in our local community and beyond.

THE WHO: I will be there along with our DSAGC Executive Director, Jim Hudson, and hopefully you and

some members of your family! The meeting is open to the public. The presentation will be promptly at the

beginning of the evening and will last about 15-20 minutes then we can go - we don't need to stay for every-

thing on their agenda.

MY PLEA: I think a strong presence of our Ds community would show how much we appreciate a communi-

ty that offers so many inclusive opportunities. Imagine them seeing the faces of our little kids, our preteens,

or teenagers and our young adults! If you can clear your calendar for 20 minutes, PLEASE come!

ADDED INCENTIVE: They will have cookies! So if you are coming reply here so I can give them a ballpark

number on how many cookies to have on-hand.

Help make our move possible! Log onto

www.dsagc.com to learn more. #DSAGCIsOnTheMove

March 2014

»

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

Sign Language Class (ages birth - 5 years)

Dramakinetics (6 years

- 10 years)

Eastside Family Event

2

Westside Family Group Annual LaRosa's Dinner

3 4

Dramakinetics (ages 3 years - 6 years)

5 6 7 8

Family Resource Con-ference Walk In Registration is Still Available.

9 10 11 12

Music Therapy (ages 3 years - 5 years)

13 14

DS Plus Family Night-Technology and Game Sharing

15

PT for Little Ones (ages 3 months - 3 years)

St. Patrick's Day

Parade

16 17 18 19 20 21

World Down Syndrome Day!

22

PT for Little Ones (ages 3 months - 3 years)

23 24

Moving to Solid Foods and Self-Feeding (ages 6 months - 3 years)

Music Therapy (ages

3 years - 5 years)

Eastside Moms Night

25 26 27 28 29

30

5th Annual World Down Syndrome Day 5K

31

March 2014

Martha Ostendarp Early Matters Coordinator

Early Matters facebook https://www.facebook.com/ marthaearlymatters

SMILES FOR THE WEEK–Can they get any sweeter???

Please CLICK HERE for the 2014 Winter Ds Press.

All we need is a little love!