Down Syndrome: Learn About the Chromosome 21 Trisomy

This is an anomaly in the number of chromosomes, specifically in pair 21, where there are 2 of them instead three.

Down syndrome might be one of the most-known genetic syndromes, as it’s present in 1 of every 700 births in the US only, although this number can change according to the mother’s age. In 2016, an estimate of 250,000 families were affected by this chromosomal disorder. The survival rate after infancy has increased drastically, as well as their lifestyle quality. Special programs and various activities have made it easier for them to be incorporated into the academic and professional world. In fact, thanks to these initiatives, these children can live their lives as normally as someone with their condition could possibly live.

These are certain physical traits that are common among children who are born with Down syndrome:

• Slanted palpebral fold.
• Round face.
• Flat nasal bridge.
• Protruding tongue.
• Small mouth (with narrow roof).
• Low muscle tone.
• Flat head.
• Stunted growth.

While these physical features might indicate the condition, other symptoms associated with the syndrome might not be as obvious. Breathing problems related to pulmonary hypertension are frequent and need to be monitored before irreversible damage is done. Epilepsy is also present in 10% of the cases during childhood, increasing significantly once they reach adulthood. Upper spine problems are also common and they should be treated before doing physical activities. Eye complications as cataracts and strabismus are common too, as well as hearing impairments. Intellectual disabilities are part of the general diagnosis and they usually prevent them from reaching an IQ higher than 70, variating from mild to severe impairment.

These problems do not impede them from being curious and methodical, as they can pick up patterns and follow them according to the instructions. While their mental development might be a bit behind than other kids their age, they are able to learn and enjoy activities as well. Parents and caretakers should impulse and stimulate them to participate in groups and should raise awareness for others who might not know how to work with kids with their condition, in order to make their interactions easier and more comfortable.

People who are closely related to these children know the importance of teaching their kids that they can be a part of society, regardless of their particular condition. That’s why it’s key to incorporate them into activities, such as sports, which they can enjoy with their peers. Autism Soccer offers them an alternative to work as a team with other kids who can relate to them while having fun and the much-needed physical exercise to improve their health.

Among the things which characterize down syndrome, there is the fact that they are great at socializing. 

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Interactive Toys: What are They and How to Incorporate Them Into Your Child’s Life

Parents and caretakers know how important it is to keep their children's mind active throughout the day,

Children are almost permanently joyous, looking for ways to interact with the world around them or just to enjoy the activity they are doing. It means they are usually more than happy to play and have fun with the toys they are offered, using them as part of their routine activities. This is key for children with special needs, as kids’ playful nature can work as the necessary stimuli to increase their connections to the world, and to provide them with the perfect opportunity to develop their motor skills. These, among other things, are some of the benefits the usage of interactive toys gives them. It helps them reach their full potential in a non-invasive way.

Some advantages interactive toys have are:

• Socialization skills: Most interactive toys require a certain interaction with the object itself or with other people. This allows them to control the way they relate with others in a non-forced or obligated way but just by sharing.
• Imagination improvement: Creating imaginary worlds is second nature to kids, that’s why they relate so much with tales and interactive toys allow them to feel connected to these.
• Motor development: Interactive toys require physical movement in several senses, and while some of them require kids to move around more than others, they all work on the same basis. Some are highly specialized in improving fine motor skills.
• Cognitive processing: Relating one thing to another might not seem so important for grown-ups, but for children, developing this ability is key. Children with special needs  need to interact and establish bounds to the world around them through things they feel safe with, such as toys while improving their cognitive processing.
• Stress and anxiety release: While sports are great to handle stress, some kids need to do it in a calmer way, that’s when interactive toys come in handy. These elements can be used to soothe them in the long run.

If you want to incorporate them into your child’s life, you need to make sure that you are doing it the right way: offer them as alternatives to the ones they already own. Teach them they can use these objects whenever they want and that it isn’t imperative to play with them. Some parents force their children to use these toys because they are aware of the benefits these can offer for their children’s health, but this will only cause an unconscious association with mandatory activities or punishments.

Children are always happy to use toys in their lives. They use them to entertain themselves, to interact with the world and ones around them, and it helps them soothe their mood. These offer an important stimulation, which impulses them to reach their goals and seek their dreams. Combined with the practice of sports like soccer, they can obtain a great amount of benefits for their overall health. Contact with Autism Soccer to find out how to incorporate sports into your child’s life to help them reach their full potential.

Find out about better options to make your child feel comfortable and able to express while they enjoy their free time. 

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The Benefits of Creating a Support System

Being the caretaker of a child with special needs can be a hard full-time job, but it gets easier with the right support system.

Most of the time, parents and caretakers are draped in the coat of superheroes. They are people who can do pretty much anything without even blinking and find solutions where others don’t see them. Their work is pretty much 24/7, as they need to be up to date on everything, for the fear those little details affect their loved ones. The size of this responsibility can take a great toll on self-esteem, care, and strength, not only in the physical but in the spiritual terrain. They need to be focused and think of possible outcomes all the time. Long days and nights are common occurrences, and while sometimes it seems like they superpowers, truth is they are humans like you and me and they sometimes need support.

That’s why you need to have a great system to help you overcome those moments of exhaustion and to hold your hands during hard times. With that in mind, I’m going to show you the benefits that having this offers:

Motivation: While sometimes you’d think that having to take care of a loved one’s health is enough motivation, truth is people can get exhausted by the routine. When they know that someone can help, they are often more motivated to get things done with their support.

Stress relief: Tending to medical conditions can be incredibly hard on the nerves of caretakers and can increase their stress levels exponentially. That’s why it’s so important for them to have people to support them, whether to take over with something or just to talk and offer a shoulder to lean on. This helps lower stress levels.

Communication: Sometimes adults need a grown-up conversation to relax and focus and that’s when support systems come in handy. Usually, these people are acquaintances going through a similar situation, and they can become a helping hand in those moments where decisions need to be made.

Avoid being overwhelmed: Being responsible for medications, medical appointments, therapies, care, and such can be a heavy load on anyone's shoulders. Support systems can help them avoid the sense of being over their heads and control being overwhelmed with responsibilities by lending a hand and helping resolve some situations.

Rest: Taking care of someone is exhausting and it can drain people’s energy real quick. With that in mind, taking power naps can help them get back in shape, and this can be achieved when someone they trust is taking the wheel on things during that time. It allows them to recharge and be rested to tackle the rest of the tasks.

These are just some of the benefits that having a support system has for people who take care of a member of their family. It allows them to find moments to sit back and relax, and enjoy the wonders of the trip they walk through along their loved one. Sometimes, these systems can be achieved with the help of people who want the best for children, as Autism Soccer does. It offers them the option of sitting back and enjoying their kids playing a sport with the guidance of professionals who know exactly how to encourage them to try new things and get physical exercise while having fun!

If you find others in these situations, the best thing you can do is to offer them your support.

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What’s the Best Sport for your Child

Kids need to do exercise, and what a better way to do it than practicing sports?

Parents know better than anyone how important physical activity is for their children, and they usually encourage their inclusion in the wonderful world of sports from a young age. However, what most of them don’t know is that there’s more than one type of sport and that each and every single one of them has pros and cons for every child. From the most outgoing and expressive, to the calmer and relaxed, you have to make sure the option you pick is the right one for your child to get the most out of it, as beyond the physical exercise, it has to be something that motivates and impulses them to be better and to enjoy themselves freely. For this reason, I’ve compiled a list of sports and their characteristics to help you make up your mind and decide what fits best your child’s needs.

Baseball: The All-American sport is a loved one for both kids and adults and it has the potential to show them the importance of working individually for the same goal. It also requires them to focus and keep a vigilant eye on everything in the diamond. From the ball to the teammate wishing to steal the base, there are lots of elements that require speed and eyes on the price. Kids who are reserved benefit from practicing this sport, as it makes them interact with buddies for short periods of time, allowing them to relate in their own terms.   

Swimming: Water is one of the best elements to play for kids, and swimming proves to be a sport that can help them not only to relax but to get the much needed physical exercise. Splashing in the water helps increase muscle tone and flexibility while having a small impact thanks to the nature of the sport itself. It also helps them control their breathing and offers overall increased health as kids need to work with the entire body. Kids who are bursting with energy can have a great time practicing this sport, while it teaches them mindfulness and to be in control.

Soccer: This is one of the most physically demanding sports out there. It requires kids to sprint in a field, often of natural grass. It offers a significant improvement in balance and coordination, as it requires the full use of the body. Stamina is also boosted, as it’s needed to participate in this activity. It is also great for boosting interaction, which is crucial to get the ball across the field and to score. This sport requires interaction in order to get a meaningful outcome. This is especially good for reserved kids, as it helps them gain confidence and create a structured friendship with others.

Basketball: The fact this game is incredibly easy to set up, makes it a great sport to practice at home. It requires concentration and quick movements and keeps the whole body engaged in the motions to take and move the ball around. While kids can form teams and play collaboratively, they can also practice shooting and dribbling at home with a hoop (which is easily installed) and a ball. These movements help to gain strength in the upper part of the body  and hand-eye coordination. Kids that are disorganized and overly active can benefit from practicing this sport as it requires quick movements and helps them drain the extra energy while helping them focus on an easy task.

What other sports do you think kids can benefit from? I’m sure that by now you know many other options they could enjoy too! Here at Autism Soccer, we know the importance physical exercise has for children and that’s why we encourage them to participate and interact with others in their own terms while also helping them feel confident and safe with their teammates. Contact us to learn more about this incredible organization!

Soccer requires the full use of the body, which makes it a great sport. 

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3 Amazing Ways to Stimulate Your Child’s Mind

Children need to have a stimulative environment to help them reach their goals. 

The inner workings of the brain intrigue scientists all over the world. It’s the source of every action people do, but most of the real power behind it remains a mystery for those who devote their lives to its study. The capacity to learn, interpret and respond with logic to the external signals is one of the main things that differentiate humans from other specimens in the animal kingdom. This bewilderment at whatever is around them starts early on, as it’s still incredibly amazing what happens with the growth of human brain since infancy. The connections that develop early on are key factors in determining how kids will react to the external world as they grow up. In fact, there are still battles in the scientific world to find out how exactly these changes occur, and how exactly they impact our future.

But one of the things in which they have a general consensus is that early childhood is the moment to stimulate the mind and create connections that will play a key role in kids’ brain development. With the surge of technology, more and more people are leaving this important part of the raising process to electronic devices, but I am going to show you some incredible ways to stimulate children's minds.

Stimulant play

Child's nature is to play, and most of the time parents and caretakers can use this time to introduce elements that will stimulate their minds. Colors, shapes, and sounds that don’t startle them, as rhymes and lullabies, can work to keep them interacting, and to create bonds that will help them feel safe. These also create ways to connect and to communicate in nonverbal ways. Soft toys, blocks, and other colorful objects or with texture are great elements to use in stimulant play.

Through music

I’m sure you’ve heard about the benefits that listening to classical music has for children. And I can assure you that more than just listening to it, impulsing children to try to make it on their own helps them focus on a task. Never use music as a punishment, and focus on increasing their love for the instruments with boosters of confidence. Encourage them to keep on trying and let them enjoy their time putting sounds together.

Practice sports

What most people don’t know is sports are not only to increase physical health but that the required actions to practice them stimulate children’s mind. Motor coordination, route construction and creative problem solving are just a few things that can improve when kids do a physical activity. It also helps them relate to others, and to realize that they have to cooperate to reach their goals.

These are just 3 ways you have to keep your child's mind stimulated. Make sure that you have everything you need in order to help them reach their full potential. At Autism Soccer we offer classes that can be highly stimulant to your child’s mind while keeping them entertained and while interacting with peers. Don’t forget to check our website to learn more about us!

Getting them involved in different activities is easier once you capture their attention. 

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How to Make Sure your Child is Getting Enough Hours of Sleep

Getting enough hours of sleep is key to make sure they have the necessary energy. 

Sleep is one of the main physiological needs for the human body. It’s those precious hours of rest that our body uses to renovate its cells, to recharge, and prepare every part of it to face another day. As a key factor for our overall health, it’s important to make sure kids cultivate sleep as a healthy habit since infancy that will benefit their well-being. However, when you are the caretaker of a child with special needs, it’s important that you monitor their sleeping patterns to help them get the correct amount of rest that will give them the energy to tackle down their day by day with a great mood.

Sleep deprivation is the main concern with these kids as this is one of the things that could affect their daily behavior. It could cause problems with concentration, and sometimes it makes them prone to behavioral distress due to the feeling of exhaustion. For parents and caretakers, these are signs that while not limited to sleep problems, are clear indicators beyond the under eye bags. Kids without proper repose can also face other sets of complications, as being exhausted takes a toll on their bodies. Spending hours without proper rest can lead to hallucinations, aggressiveness, migraine and high blood pressure just to name a few. But there are many things that you can do to ensure they are getting the necessary hours of slumber to maintain their health. First of all, make sure you create a correct environment for them to rest, and you can use the following advice:

• Put a nightlight: This will help them feel more safe, as it will avoid the dreaded pitch-dark look of a room in the night. If your child is particularly sensitive to light, you can offer them the option of using a click-on light that they can push if needed throughout the night.

• Take out distracting electronics: While in some cases electronic devices need to be present in your child’s room, make sure to take out all unnecessary elements out of the bedroom. Tablets, computers, and videogames can create the incorrect environment for rest.  

• Keep it clean: Some kids feel stressed and anxious in messy spaces and those emotions could interfere in how they reach the state of relaxation that allows them to sleep. In this sense, you need to keep those areas organized as it will take out that stress factor.

But more than setting the environment, you need to take the extra step into making them realize that their rest time is important and a key element to ensure their health. This might come across as something incredibly hard to process for a child, but I can assure you they will understand why they need to do it and will be more than willing to incorporate rest into their everyday lives if you let them know why they must do it in a more friendly way. Another set of things you can do to help them reach that relaxed state is:

• Set a routine: Most of the time, kids like things when they are consistent, and you as a caretaker, should get used to these routines. Create one for sleep-time, like having tea or a warm glass of milk after the night bath. Stick with it as it will resound and work as the starter for the sleeping time.  

• Relaxing bath : A soak in tempered water and a massage can help your kid feel relaxed before heading off to bed. This helps their body fall into the sleepy state needed to allow a restful night.

• Soothe them: Some kids like to listen to relaxing music or do something in particular which makes them feel calm. Make sure to incorporate these soothing elements as part of their pre-sleep habit to help them feel safe and comforted.

• Avoid using it as a tool: You can let them know the importance of sleep for their lives, but don’t use it as a tool. Remember kids interpret things due to their associations, so make sure you relate sleep to something relaxing, not to a task or a punishment.

• Use transitional objects: As you know, most kids appreciate having a teddy bear or any other toy as a fixed item in their bed routine. These are transitional elements that help them soothe themselves and comprehend that it’s time to go to bed.

Every child will have a different need and behavior when it comes to resting time, and you need to do everything you can to make sure they get the most out of every single hour of sleep they get. Figure out a pattern that works for both of you, stick to it and do everything you need to in order to allow them to recharge their bodies for the next day. This is especially important if they are doing extra physical exercise, like having a soccer game. For this same reason, Autism Soccer encourages kids in their classes to get enough hours of slumber, as it will give them the energy to face every activity throughout the day. Contact them to give your child the opportunity to enjoy soccer with the help of professionals!

If kids are well-rested, they'll have more energy to do things that make them happy. 

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The Importance of Understanding Non-Verbal Communication

Signaling, writing, learning sign language and other ways of expression are often behaviors of kids with special needs. 

Special children can show a variety of signs of their condition, but one of the most widespread ones is their lack of verbal communication. This means they are more likely to express their mind and feelings through other forms of communication, like body language or sounds. It is especially important for parents, caretakers and teachers to understand they are trying to convey messages through a different system that makes them feel more comfortable and why these ways of communication are vital for them to feel safe and understood by those around them. Sometimes these ways of relating will take the form of signaling, or something more complex like the utterance of sounds in a certain order without words in them.

They have something to say

Not being able to express things through regular ways we use doesn’t mean that they don’t have anything to share. Kids with disabilities often have creative ways to communicate, whether that is through signaling or interacting in a more active way than how they normally would. This helps them interact and it’s important for you, as a member of their close circle, to pick the signs right away.

Encourage them to express

Sometimes, these kids will feel misunderstood or frustrated by the fact they are not taking the usual path of expression others use. You need to assure them that regardless of how they do it, they are loved and the way they interact is correct. If the behavior is physically hurtful, teach them other ways to do it, but never tell them that it’s not correct to express. Just find different ways, but always let them know you are happy that they are assessing their opinions.

Let them feel confident

Children with special needs are particularly prone to bouts of depression and frustration over their condition and you, as a caretaker, need to make sure these feelings are tackled down and smoothed as soon as they appear. Teach them they are indeed different but that it doesn’t make them less of a person. Let them know that their ways of expressing are correct and help them reach their desired goals. Remember confidence is a bridge to more communication with you and the rest of the world.

Non-verbal is great and verbal is great too

In some cases, kids can fear to take a different approach to their communication, and would rather stay in just one lane. If you see them struggling, let them know that their preferred form of expression is ok and that they are loved and should be proud of either way they chose to convey their mind and feelings. These assurances need to be frequent and strong, as they need to feel they are in total control of how they decide to get across their message.

Children with special needs have a different and unique way to see the world, and they love to do the things that draw their attention and expressing said love through different methods. You are responsible for making them feel loved and respected, and as such, you need to find ways to encourage their participation in physical activities that will offer them enjoyment and the necessary exercise. Here in Autism Soccer, you’ll have a team of professionals prepared to help your child reach their goals, regardless of their preferred form of communication. Be a part of this excellent initiative in Florida!

There are a million ways to express yourself through something else than verbal cues. 

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