Once it is determined that your baby has Down Syndrome, you may contact your local early intervention specialist and arrange for an evaluation and assessment. Milestones refer to a series of skills in the four areas of development which a child is expected to achieve at a designated time, also referred to as a key age which may be calculated in terms of weeks, months or years. It must be remembered that development is a continuous process that begins at conception and which proceeds stage by stage in an orderly sequence. Each milestone represents a skill which is prerequisite to the next stage in development. In monitoring the development of a child with Down syndrome, it is more useful to look at the sequence of milestones achieved, rather than the age at which the milestone is reached.
Early intervention can help in many ways.
Appropriate physical therapy may assist a baby with Down syndrome, who may have low muscle tone, in achieving this milestone. One of the fine motor skills that an infant is expected to achieve is the ability to hold and reach for objects. Here again, the baby with Down syndrome may need help before mastering these tasks. Physical therapy and practice in achieving these and subsequent milestones can assist a baby with Down syndrome in the four areas of development. Early intervention can also prevent a child with Down syndrome from reaching a plateau at some point in development.