Early therapies for children with Down syndrome

Dear Supporters, 

Last quarter, our beautiful children returned to their second home – KDSP, to avail their assigned therapies. Due to Covid-19 and government restrictions, organizations still continue to operate on 50% capacity. Feedback from parents however made the Early Childhood Intervention team realize the importance of in-person therapies and how they are more effective compared to virtual sessions. Due to the widespread administration of Covid-19 vaccines in Pakistan, the team feels relatively more relieved to observe the situation settling. The team has been able to conduct 290+ sessions in person and virtual. Therapists at KDSP absolutely love the sight of sweet little children coming in with varying moods to attend their sessions and cannot wait for therapies to resume fully in person.

Father of Yashra expressed, "Yashra had difficulty in supporting her back but within 3 months at KDSP, she had started walking. Yashra joined KDSP during the pandemic and at the time, I was out of work. I am so grateful for all the support KDSP extended, through financial aid, ensuring Yashra could attend all her therapy sessions. I am extremely dedicated to her development and KDSP has taught me a lot". 

Research shows that children with Down syndrome (DS) are at a higher risk for hearing loss as compared with their typically developing peers. Incidence can be as high as 78%, with a majority exhibiting conductive hearing loss. Therefore it is essential to screen for hearing difficulties so speech therapy can be effective. Audiologists have the education and training to determine the presence of any hearing loss and offer treatment options. As part of KDSP's partnership with the 'Ziauddin College of Speech Language & Hearing Sciences (ZCSLHS)', audio logical assessments for these children were introduced April onwards at subsidized rates. This was a great initiative introduced by the team as it resulted in addressing issues related to the hearing capacity of children with Down syndrome.

Family-centered practice is gaining popularity worldwide and parent training programs are being used to shift focus from the traditional model to the ideal family-centered model. Free of cost Occupational and Speech therapy trainings for parents of individuals with Down syndrome were conducted by Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) that benefitted 11 families. The team at KDSP strongly believes that parent participation increases effectiveness of therapy sessions and accelerates the progress of the child.

As this quarter comes to an end, we would like to thank you all for the generous support and we eagerly look forward to your continued patronage in helping these children reach their developmental milestones timely!

Love,
Team KDSP