Ways to have a conversation

An example of involving other people in the conversation

Noor has just started her first year of primary school. She is the only child with Down Syndrome at her school.

Noor’s parents and teacher want her classmates to know that Noor may do things differently at school. To do this, Noor agrees for her mum to come in and talk with Noor and her classmates. This helps the other students to learn how to play with Noor so that she is included.

Next year, Noor and her Mum work on a letter to her classmates. It explains the things she likes about school and the things she is still working on. It has sentences and pictures. Her teacher helps Noor to share the letter with her class and answer their questions. The teacher also asks the other students to share what they enjoy and are working on at school.

Every child is different and will have a preferred way of communicating. How you communicate may change as your child gets older. ‘Having a conversation’ can mean a lot of different things. To introduce adjustments to your child, you may want to get creative.

For example: • Using the communication approach or tool that they prefer. • Role-playing scenarios and situations. • Using pictures or stories (or both).

Below are some examples of ways to introduce adjustments.