How Ana Sofia Inspires Everyone Around Her (Trisomy-21)
Ana Sofia was born with Trisomy 21, also known as Down Syndrome. In the first year of her life, knowing the development predictions from doctors and professionals for kids with Down Syndrome, her mom started looking for answers to help Ana Sofia and her development.
Ana Sofia’s mother learned about the Doman Method® and began implementing a program with Ana Sofia when she was 8 months old to speed her development. Ana Sofia was well behind her peers in her development at the time. Her mother made sure to give her many opportunities to start moving on the floor, and Ana Sofia began creeping at 9 months of age, and she started standing up at 13 months.
Mom also did sensory stimulation to help Ana Sofia’s hearing and ability to feel, and Ana Sofia began to hear the sounds and speech of her environment. Doing a Doman Method® physical program consistently, Ana Sofia learned to stand up and walk. To improve Ana Sofia’s manual ability, mom followed staff recommendations to have Ana Sofia grab and hang from a dowel to improve her grasp ability. Her manual grasp became stronger and she started to develop a pincer grasp.
Mom started Doman Method® Reading and Math programs to help Ana Sofia’s cognitive development. Ana Sofia’s understanding greatly improved and she quickly was able to demonstrate she was very intelligent! She began speaking her first words and communicating her needs with her mom and those around her.
Ana Sofia just turned 5 years old. At her most recent visit to Doman International, she showed she was continuing to make exceptional gains. The staff and mom agreed her understanding and maturity is actually above her age level. Adults around her are amazed by her ability to follow instructions and interact with others. People often say she’s so kind and mature she’s like a “little adult”. She now is able to run! Her speech is so good she can carry on back and forth conversations with others, answering in full sentences. She has learned to brachiate (a Doman program for manual improvement) and she has started to write. She knows all her numbers.
Ana Sofia is a wonderful, sweet girl who is a joy to be around for everyone who knows her. Her amazing abilities and achievements are inspiring for other parents of kids with Down Syndrome or other special needs, to show that a diagnosis doesn’t have to be a life sentence! We applaud Ana Sofia and her mom for their amazing work.