Abstract:
Children with Down syndrome exhibit delays in their general development. One aspect that is particularly affected is language and communication skills. Being a vital element and a precursor towards successful inclusive learning and living in the community, language has been the focus of years of research. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to the Arabic language, especially with respect to children with Down syndrome. This study involved 16 subjects with Down syndrome, ages between 3 and 6 years, attending a school for students with special needs in Lebanon. An early intervention reading program called See and Learn® developed in the UK has been adopted and adapted to accommodate the specific characteristics of Arabic language. Although a limited scope of the program was applied, the results were promising. See and Learn® focuses on the concept of children with Down syndrome being strong visual learners who will conform well to a structured routine setting in learning. This concept and the teaching strategies applied in the English program could be applied successfully to the Arabic Language, and would most certainly enable us to continue developing better strategies to teach children with Down syndrome reading, writing and good communication skills.
