Cri Du Chat Syndrome Support Group

School Related Difficulties

In terms of schooling, each child’s needs will be different. Some children may begin school life in a school for moderate learning disabilities (MLD) and may move later on into a school for severe learning difficulties (SLD) because they are not coping with the greater demands and pressures of an MLD school. Equally, other children may settle very well at one school (MLD or SLD) appropriate to their needs and level of abilities. It is very rare for a CDCS child to be in mainstream schooling although many special needs schools now have a policy of greater integration. You need to remember that there are many advantages to placing your child within a special needs school. There is, for example, a higher staff: child ratio which will allow for more individualised planning appropriate to your child’s level of ability. There will also be a wider variety of communication systems available (i.e. Makaton (see above), symbols/photo timetables) that can greatly assist learning.

Indeed, it is vital that teachers allow communication skills to develop in CDCS children. Primarily because it allows the child to be ‘included’ in the day to day routine of school life, and also because communication, by whatever means, reduces the level of frustration and aggression that can accompany limited speech production. It is also important that CDCS children are integrated in classrooms with children their own age. Because the CDCS child often look much younger than their actual age you need to ensure that they are learning within an environment that has similar aged children performing age appropriate tasks. The school should also have access to the services of speech therapists, occupational therapists, and educational psychologists.