Following Spoken Directions
In order to demonstrate that they know the work, children need to be able to understand and follow the instructions given in class. The language of instruction is different for different subjects. Spelling, for example, is a subject area that usually has a weekly cycle with the same instructions being repeated each week. Some instructions used might include:

• "Write your spelling words three times."

• Short-term memory and recall--that is, the ability to retain and retrieve recent information. This is often a problem for children with Down syndrome. This book describes many strategies for adapting spoken instructions, such as having the teacher speak in short, clear sentences, or provide lots of visual cues. But your child should also be working to improve his ability to follow complex spoken instructions. Your child's speech-language pathologist can work on problem areas in therapy. For example, to boost your child's receptive language skills, the therapist might work on:

  1)Following directions with multiple parts, similar to the instructions given in school,
  2)Comprehension exercises,
  3)Reading and experiential activities (role playing what you have just read about, or writing a story based a field trip),
  4)Phonological awareness (the relationship between letters and sounds, rhyming, and other sound relationship skills),
  5)Specific comprehension of vocabulary, morphology (word parts such as plurals), and syntax (grammatical rules).

  Skills needed for direction-following can also be practiced through play. One type of play that provides is games that involve giving and following directions, such as Simon Says. "The Hokey Pokey Song," and Twister. Other suggested activities are:
  

  • Barrier games: See the next section and Chapter 11.


• Body tracing: Children can take turns tracing around specified parts of each other's bodies, then follow directions such as "Point to the head."


• Cooking: Recipes involve following directions. You might rephrase the instructions for each step, or point out and identify the important words in the instructions, such as "mix" and "pour."


• Dressing: Your child can dress a paper doll or large size doll in clothing appropriate for a season, in response to "Dress the buddy doll for rainy weather," or follow directions for zipping up, etc.


• You're getting warmer-colder: Hide a prize in the room. When the child is nearing the hidden prize, the leader will say, "You're getting warmer" and when he is getting farther away, the leader will say, "You're getting colder."


• Crafts activities: For example, if you are using rubber stamps, you first need to learn how to use the stamp and ink pad colors. Then a project may involve stamping once or stamping multiple times. Making a braided bracelet or a leather coin purse or belt, or a wooden car are crafts projects that involve following instructions. Crafts may be practiced at home or in community activities such as girl or boy scouts.


• Map or motor mat activities: using a map is a good activity for following directions. You might make a map of the neighborhood, and create a pathway for finding a prize. You might map out the way to a bird's nest or to an area where a campfire will be held. A motor mat is a "play map." Motor mats available in variety stores and dollar closeout stores. They are usually made of plastic, but they are available as rugs too. They have community sites such as the library, firehouse, school, place of worship, movie, and shopping mall. You use toy cars and trucks to move along the roadways. This can be a good following directions activity. You can also make your own motor mat with the specific landmarks in your neighborhood.


• Music and action songs: Children with Down syndrome often enjoy music and action songs as "The Hokey Pokey," which provide opportunities for following directions. Children's singer Hap Palmer has many recordings of songs for younger children that combine movements with learning.


• Planting seeds: Your child can follow directions for planting seeds pots or in the ground.


• School: Playing school with real props helps children practice giving and following instructions.


• Washing dishes or loading the dishwasher: These activities involve following instructions, at first to learn the skills. You can practice following instructions by varying the activity. For example, "Let's put all of the big glasses on the left and all of the little glasses on the right," "Let's dry the big glasses with a blue towel and the little glasses with a yellow towel."


• Writing skills: children can follow directions to make circles, x's, underlines, and other worksheet markings with pipe cleaners, Wikki sticks, playdough "snake," etc. circles and x's can be practiced during games of tic tac toe.