DOWN SYNDROME: BABY IRIS LEARNS TO MOVE, IS BABBLING AND IS THRIVING ABOVE AVERAGE IN HER UNDERSTANDING
Iris’s parents were told in the 14th week of her pregnancy that their baby had Down Syndrome. Determined to give Iris the best life possible, her parents began looking for ways to help her develop as best as possible. When her mother was 5 months pregnant, she was gifted a book from a friend called “The Gift that Changed Our Lives” by Rocío Martín Díez (only available in Spanish). The book is by a mom of a special needs child who was greatly helped by the Doman Method®. Parents were intrigued and made plans to attend the Doman Method® Course: From Special Needs to Wellness when Iris was only 3 months old.
At 3 months, Iris was able to see the outlines of people and objects, but not see detail perfectly like facial expressions. She responded to loud and sudden sounds, but couldn’t hear all the sounds of her environment. She couldn’t yet crawl on her belly to move, and she didn’t make many sounds, although she could cry. She was not yet consistently picking up objects in her hands.
Parents began a Doman Method Program immediately. The program included Visual Integration to help Iris see better, and Auditory Integration to help her hear sounds and speech better. Parents taught her both an encyclopedic knowledge and Reading Program after attending the course to greatly increase Iris’s understanding. She learned to recognize pictures, and even some words, with these programs. As her hearing improved, she started to understand words and follow simple instructions. Parents also started Tactile Integration with Iris as she did not have a consistent response even to strong sensations, like something cold.
As Iris had poor muscle tone and could not crawl, parents used an Inclined Floor as taught in the Doman Method Course to help Iris learn to crawl. She learned to crawl down the floor and after several months, she started crawling on the flat floor. She can now crawl over 20 meters on the flat floor daily to navigate her environment! This is an important first step toward walking.
With this robust cognitive and physical program, Iris’s breathing improved and she started making many meaningful sounds to communicate with parents, including happy, excited, hungry and other sounds. This allows her to communicate her needs with parents. Iris’s manual ability also improved and she started to grab objects with ease in both hands.
Iris and her family joined the Advanced Doman Program in November when they attended their first Remote Appointment. While Iris is only 10 months of age, at her evaluation she had a neurological age calculated at nearly 13 months! This is because she is above age level in her understanding and comprehension. She can recognize images, read some words and follow instructions! Iris’s development has been calculated to be 3 times faster than before starting the Doman Method® program.
The team at Doman International congratulates Iris’s parents for their wonderful and hard work, and Iris herself for her many amazing gains! We welcome them on to the Advanced Doman Program and look forward to their many achievements in the future.