See and Learn Appeal - Making learning easier

See and Learn is delivering easy-to-use activities and materials to make it easy for families and professionals to successfully support learning for children with Down syndrome from birth and throughout childhood.

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Children with Down syndrome have some special learning needs. Games and activities that are specifically designed to target these needs can promote learning and lessen some developmental delays. We are developing teaching materials, activity guides and record sheets to make it easier for families, teachers and therapists to promote the development of language and reading, speech, number and memory skills.

Over the next few years, we hope to develop comprehensive See and Learn programmes to support each of these key areas of development at home, in group and individual therapy sessions, and in the classroom.

Effective support can make a dramatic difference

Although there is still much to discover, studies already show ways in which we can adapt teaching techniques to better meet the specific learning needs of young people with Down syndrome. There is also good evidence that the gains from effective support can be dramatic - improving learning outcomes by 2-3 years (on a scale of typical development) by the mid-teenage years. Gains can include better language, speech, reading, writing and social skills. These improvements for young people with Down syndrome can transform their lives. Improved communication, reasoning and thinking abilities and social skills help in all areas of life, increasing independence and widening employment opportunities.

What is See and Learn?

See and Learn makes providing effective support easy. It includes four programmes - See and Learn Language and Reading, See and Learn Memory, See and Learn Speech and See and Learn Numbers. Each programme includes a series of steps. Each step includes a set of structured activities. Resources, step-by-step instructions and record sheets are provided for each activity. A guide to each step explains what is known about the development of the particular skill and therefore why each activity is included and what the child is gaining from it. Activity instructions are illustrated with clear photographs which will be accompanied by online video demonstrations. Record sheets help families and professionals chart a child’s progress through the different activities and steps.

Guidance will be offered for activities in different contexts. See and Learn At Home materials will support regular practice at home for an individual child. See and Learn Together materials will support activities for groups of children enrolled in early learning services or support groups. See and Learn At School materials will support activities that can be successfully incorporated into regular school routines and curricula. See and Learn Professional materials will support the use of the resources and activities by therapists. We will offer online and in-person seminars and advice groups to support families and professionals using the programmes. We also plan to develop interactive portals for maintaining children’s records, charting progress and obtaining further guidance.

A proven design - already in practice

We have already delivered the first three steps in the See and Learn Language and Reading programme. The development of these resources involved extensive piloting to ensure that the design and format of the materials was clear and easy to use. Feedback from families and professionals using these first steps has been hugely positive.

Next steps

Among the next steps planned for development in 2010 and 2011 are:

See and Learn Language and Reading steps:

• See and Learn First Sentences - activities to encourage children to join words in spoken language and to develop simple sentences using early grammar
• See and Learn More Sentences - activities to teach children longer sentences and more complex grammar in their spoken language

See and Learn Speech steps:

• See and Learn First Speech Sounds - activities and games to teach listening, discrimination and production of single speech sounds
• See and Learn First Sounds in Words - activities and games to practice using sounds in syllables and words
• See and Learn More Sounds in Words - activities to practice more advanced sounds in words

See and Learn Number steps:

• See and Learn First Number Concepts - activities and games to teach first concepts of colour, shape, size, order and quantity
• See and Learn First Counting - activities and games to teach counting words and early counting
• See and Learn First Sums - activities and games to teach addition and subtraction
• See and Learn More Sums - activities to teach multiplication and division
• See and Learn Telling the Time - activities to teach the language and concepts for time
• See and Learn Counting Money - activities to teach understanding and using money

See and Learn Memory steps:

• See and Learn Developing Memory - activities and games to improve attention and memory for objects and pictures
• See and Learn Memory Strategies - activities to increase memory spans and teach memorising strategies

Lasting impact

The See and Learn project will help ensure that young people with Down syndrome have every opportunity to benefit from all we have learned about their specific learning needs. Online editions will ensure the widest access to families, professionals and organisations throughout the world.

How can you help?

Your help is essential. We need to raise £440,000 ($730,000 or €500,000) to develop, test and publish the first UK and US English editions of these resources. We will then need to raise further funds to translate and adapt the programmes for use in different languages and cultures. You can help by donating, encouraging your family and friends to donate, organising a fundraising event, nominating us for corporate support or sponsorship or introducing us to a trust or foundation that might be interested in supporting this project.

Donate today

You can also donate easily and securely online using your credit or debit card:

• To donate to the See and Learn Appeal through Down Syndrome Education International (a UK registered charity), please visit www.downsed.org/donate (please select “See and Learn” as the purpose of your donation)
• To donate to the See and Learn Appeal through Down Syndrome Education USA (a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit), please visit www.downsedusa.org/donate (please select “See and Learn” as the purpose of your donation)