If u have a sibling or child with special needs please answer..?

Question

I'm 21 and I have a little brother who is 8 yrs old with downs syndrome, mentally I would say he is about 5 years old he knows a few words and can read baby books but how can I get him to learn math in the simpliest way where he can understand I have tried him with pennies and counting on fingers but he has not quite grasped the concept and how can I get him to read books that have a bit more words to it. It is difficult at times and more than anything I would like for him to somehow become a productive citizen when he gets older. Any tips, advice? they are all welcome and thank you =)

Answer 1

When my son was younger,they said he was slow to learn, because he has a problem with the neurontransmitters in his brain, he has ADHD(Attention Deficient Hyperactiveness Disorder), which means he can't sit still long enough to grasp what being said to him, done for him;they put him on sedatives, but that only calmed his hyperactiveness, after awhile he developed what they called a suicidual personality,and my son's age  is 24 yrs. but he's about 16 in knowing anything, he has 1 sister,older,and 1 brother older, 1 brother younger, but I do have good news that will I pray help you, and that is:Tim(my son), is now not as slow HE DID MOST OF THE LEARNING BY HIMSELF AT HIS PACE,if you get these books you were thinking about getting,get them, use you might want to try flash cards, for numbers,colors,abc's,and get him a book with his name printed in it so when he opens the book, or you open it he can see his name in the book, and he will copy what he sees, as far as his name , and the flash cards, they also have flash cards for words; Timmy  IS NOW A COMPUTER WIZ, AND  A MATHAMATICAL  GENIUS, HE CAN DO MATH PROBLEMS IN HIS HEAD, AND THEY ARE RIGHT! sO, SEE YOUR BROTHER WILL MIMIC  what he sees, and will learn at his pace,but young lady he will learn. Trust God, I pray that God gives you the patience,understanding, and strength, to keep with what you started with your brother, God will help you and your brother!

Answer 2

Go with what your brother likes to entice him to pay attention.  (Spiderman, Sponge Bob, whatever) By tapping into what he is familar with, you will have an advantage.  Remember, he is dealing with slower abilities and it is going to take him a longer to grasp on to concepts.  He will not learn as fast as others.  Good wishes for all of you!

Answer 3

Well you have the right idea. You should definitely be trying to teach him visually to begin with. Get a bunch of straws and cups. Put 1 straw in the first cup to represent one and then go on up to 10.Number cups from 1 to 10 and when he has that down them you can teach him by 2s. Eventually you can get him to bundle the straws in groups of 10 and teach him in tens. Be patient and you will progress little by little each day. If you what to move on to larger words why not try making flash cards with new words and once he is confident with that group of words introduce the next level.