Family Conferences - typical content
The charity's Family Conferences provide a relaxed and personal
setting combining keynote sessions with small workshops to enable
families to obtain practical and relevant information.
Introduction
The format for our Family Conferences includes one or two keynote
sessions for everyone to attend and then a choice of small informal
workshops on a range of specific topics.
Typical content
Keynote sessions
Keynote sessions can include:
- An overview of the information on the special needs of
children with Down syndrome from birth (that is the way in
which Down syndrome influences the child's development and learning)
– a framework for early intervention and education
- Why inclusive schooling is the best option –
evidence for the benefits of inclusion in mainstream schools
- Meeting the needs of the whole family – how do
families cope long-term?
Small-group workshops
Examples of parallel small-group workshop sessions are:
The needs of babies with Down syndrome for the first 18 months
- A session introducing the Early Support materials for families
with a child with Down syndrome and showing how they can help
families and professionals work together in supporting, celebrating
and recording the baby's development. Video material will be used to
demonstrate milestones and activities to promote progress in all
areas of development.
Encouraging early speech and language development – birth to 3 years
- A session presenting a guide to early speech and language
development, explaining the milestones and showing practical
activities which can be carried out by parents. Video material will
be shown to illustrate activities.
Encouraging speech and language development from 3 to 8 years
- A session discussing stages of vocabulary, sentence and speech
development, explaining the stages that children go through in each
aspect of spoken language development and showing examples of
practical activities to promote progress.
Strategies for developing working memory skills
- A session explaining working memory and its importance in
children's development, the links with speaking and reading, and
ways to improve memory skills.
Teaching reading to teach talking – 3 to 8 years
- A session explaining why reading helps spoken language and
demonstrating the practical ways to introduce and develop reading
and writing skills. The session will include an introduction to
see and learn materials for early reading.
Computers as an aid to learning
- A session demonstrating examples of good software for teaching a
range of skills and knowledge, and advice on how to introduce
children to the computer.
Planning for successful inclusion in school
- A session outlining what parents should expect to be in place if
their child is starting in a mainstream school, how the school
should be planning and what should be in the child's statement
Teaching children number – the Numicon maths system
- A session showing ways of teaching children to count and to
calculate, including a demonstration of the key benefits and use of
the Numicon maths system.
Encouraging social development and age-appropriate behaviour
- A session discussing the importance of setting boundaries and
having age-appropriate expectations for behaviour to prepare
children to benefit fully from inclusion and from all learning
opportunities. Effective methods for changing difficult behaviour
will also be included.
Encouraging self-help skills and independence
- A session discussing how to develop motor skills for all
activities, and how to encourage independence in feeding, toileting
and dressing.
Further information
We are able to offer Family conferences at venues in the UK and
overseas, depending on staff availability.
Please
contact
us if you are interested in working with the charity to provide a
Family conference in your area and would like more details of the costs
involved.