January 31st, 2009
There are number of pediatric mental and physical problems. Down ‘s Syndrome (DS) is which is also called as Trisomy 21 is a condition in which child’s development is greatly halted due to genetic problems. The children with Down’s syndrome face both mental and physical development problems. It is estimated that about 1 in 800 babies are born with Down’s syndrome.
There is no prevention for this problem and symptoms of Down’s syndrome are quite variable from one child to other. Some children are so badly affected that they need continuous medical attention while some may be able to have good healthy life. The children with Down’s syndrome have many physical impairments like low muscle tone, problems in sitting or walking, poor growth rate with age, delayed speech and lack of self care. Also children with Down’s syndrome have mild to moderate intellectual problems, limited communication, problems with social interactions, and low working skills. However, children with Down’s syndrome can learn and can develop skills if properly taken care of and provided with opportunities.
The good news is that these special kids with Down’s syndrome can improve in every aspect if we can provide them all the opportunities to grow. Children with Down’s syndrome love to play with toys. Their choices may be different but in fact they like to have toys and interaction is obvious. Due to their special physical and sensory needs, proper selection of toys is utmost important. Wooden toys are the best of best we can offer to these children. Wooden toys are non-toxic, natural, and above all fun to play with. These toys do not make these children surprised and confused by changing light colors, noises and movements as done by battery operated toys. Wooden toys can harmonize with child’s sensory capabilities and can be life long asset to these children. When we think of wooden toys these are not only blocks but all sort of advanced well crafted toys that will enhance child’s learning capabilities over time. Children with Down’s syndrome should be provided with all sort of wooden toys available from early developmental toys, learning toys, educational toys, and therapeutic toys.
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Tags: Down's Syndrome, Montessori Toys
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January 30th, 2009
It has been estimated that autism affects 3-6 children out of every 1000 and male children are more likely to get autism than females. The symptoms of autism appear usually before 3 years of age. Children with autism have many difficulties to face including problems in social interaction, problems in verbal and non-verbal communication, and obsessive disorder like repeating something again and again. These problems can be mild in nature or severe enough to make child disable.
Children with autism also have problems in playing with toys and other children. They show little response to social stimuli, rarely smile, and also don’t like interaction with others especially strangers. But they do show attachment behavior to their primary caretakers. The autistic children also show aggressive and destructive behavior in response to various stimuli.
Selection of autistic children can be a daunting task because improper selection of toy for autistic child can turn into untoward results and may cause more harm than good. Those toys should be selected which integrate with the autistic child’s senses and do not provoke him by any means. Selection of battery operated toys can over stimulate the autistic child by their blinking lights and noises to which these children are very sensitive sometime. In such cases wooden toys are the best option for autistic children. Wooden toys provide peace, harmony, and do not create over stimulation by any means. Wooden toys can also integrate very well with the senses of autistic children and provide them ample time to get use to these wooden toys. Wooden toys provide natural touch and feeling while autistic children are introduced with these toys. Wooden blocks would be the best choice in selecting first toy for your autistic child. Blocks carry the charisma that would hold the autistic child’s attention for longer period of time. Choose wooden toys are that are multicolor and finely crafted to get the attention of your child. You can also go for those wooden toys which autistic child will use to construct something. For such purpose wooden building blocks can be very handy.
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Tags: Autistic Toys, Types of Toys, Wooden Toys
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