Feldman Ecopark Centre for Psychosocial Rehabilitation opened the groups of social integration of children with Down syndrome.
“Down syndrome is not a disease, it is a genetic trait. The families with these children constantly face the problem of rejection, non-acceptance and lack of understanding from the society. Nevertheless, socialization, communication with other children is very important for them to be able to develop. Like other children, they need to attend various clubs, dancing and so on,” the head of the psychological service of the Feldman Ecopark Centre for Psychosocial Rehabilitation Tetiana Aliieva told. “It is socialization of children with Down syndrome that is the main task of the work of our Centre with these children: acquiring certain skills here, they will be able to apply them in social medium; thus, self-confidence, self-assessment, strong-willed and motivational resources will form in them.”
According to the specialists, equine therapy is applied during the work with these children as therapeutic riding that is necessary to form new situation for a child, where he or she will learn to control it. A horse helps a child to open own potential and wish to make the following steps. Canis therapy is also applied for the work with them, as a dog is a wonderful friend who can teach a child interaction.
It should be noted that October is the Down syndrome awareness month all over the world. According to statistics, 1 out of 700 children are born with this syndrome. This ratio is the same in different countries, climatic zones, and social strata. Boys and girls with Down syndrome are born with the same frequency. For the first time, Down syndrome was described in 1866 by a British doctor John Langdon Down. Almost a hundred years later, in 1959, a French scientist Jérôme Lejeune grounded the genetic origin of this syndrome, which is defined by the extra chromosome in human cells.
