Changing Perceptions of Down’s Syndrome

05 Dec 2019

We’ve been encouraged to read about the Down Syndrome Research Programme, a 41-year study based at the University of Queensland’s School of Education. This is the world’s longest running and most complete study of its kind. It started by recruiting around 40 children born between May 1976 and December 1978. Since then over 200 families have contributed to the research. The programme has expanded to include many other studies on Down’s Syndrome.

"This research has affirmed that people born with Down Syndrome can look forward to a good life with the opportunity to make valued contributions to their families and the community," says Dr Rhonda Faragher, the director of the programme.

It used to be thought that the language and literacy skills of people with Down’s Syndrome would plateau in early adolescence, but the research shows otherwise. This has led to Latch-On, an award-winning two-year programme of literacy and technology teaching and learning for adolescents with Down’s Syndrome and/or other learning disabilities. Latch-On has been running for 15 years in Australia and has also been licensed to organisations in Canada and Ireland. One of the areas currently being studied is mathematics: what teaching approaches are being used for students with Down’s Syndrome in mainstream secondary classes?