Speakers, Teachers and Sweets

Ellen Lindsey, president of the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network, and mother of a child with Down Syndrome was our guest speaker at our meeting last week.  She explained what the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network was as well as the different types of support it provides to families and individuals with Down Syndrome. She also informed us of various events that the DSN puts on to promote inclusion and acceptance of those with Down Syndrome such as the Buddy Walk, Inclusion Week, and Spread the word to end the word.  Our UNITE members were anxious to find out more information about these events in hopes of volunteering at one of them in the near future! For more information visit www.champaigndsn.org

Ellen went on to teach us a little bit about Down Syndrome itself through sharing the story of her son.  We learned various strategies that teachers can use to effectively work with students with Down Syndrome and their parents.   She explained that parents of children with Down Syndrome want to work together with teachers, not against them.  As teachers we should make a special effort to get to know the student and their family so that we are able to understand the functioning support system they have in place.  Teachers that would like to implement new ideas when working with these students should not be offended if the parents aren’t on board with the idea right off the bat.  If you are able to excite the parents about your idea, there is a greater chance that they will be willing to let you to use it with their child.

This week we reviewed the three steps of the Behavior Management Cycle that we learned at the UNITE national workshop. UNITE members shared how they used what was taught at the workshop in their own classrooms while student teaching.  We also discussed People First Language, and the teacher’s responsibility as a role model to promote its use.

We also held our first official fundraiser bake sale this week to help sponsor our alternative spring break trip.  Thank you to all members who baked delicious goods and helped to make our bake sale a success!