Caring for Tang Bao and helping him recover

What is Down syndrome? Down syndrome is a genetic disease caused by an extra chromosome 21 in the fetus. Children with Down syndrome have special facial features at birth, intellectual disabilities become more obvious with age, growth and development disorders, delayed motor development, and are often accompanied by cardiovascular system malformations and other congenital malformations, so it is also called 21-trisomy syndrome. It is the earliest and most common chromosomal disease discovered by humans, and the incidence increases with the increase of maternal age. There is currently no cure for the disease.

Most babies with Down syndrome have low muscle strength and muscle tension, and have varying degrees of motor sensory impairment. Due to their intellectual development lag, most babies with Down syndrome also have problems such as hand-eye coordination disorders and cognitive development lag. The developmental period of babies with Down syndrome is not only a critical period for motor development, but also a critical period for intellectual development and development. Compared with normal children, the childhood of children with Down syndrome is also the most plastic period in their lives, so rehabilitation training for babies with Down syndrome is urgent.

Therefore, our Down syndrome babies need comprehensive rehabilitation treatments such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech rehabilitation. Rehabilitation treatment in the form of family, medical treatment and education has become the main means of rehabilitation for preschool and school-age Down syndrome babies. Of course, the growth of Down syndrome babies requires the patient companionship and guidance of their parents.

Physical therapy

In terms of motor development, therapists or parents can promote the baby's motor development through Bobbath ball training, sit-up training, head control training, lower limb gait training, and vestibular balance function training. It is best to guide the baby to conduct rehabilitation training through games. During the guidance process, since Tangbao generally has low muscle tension, it is necessary to avoid impact exercises to prevent joint dislocation.

Speech Rehabilitation

Therapists or parents can give the baby passive massage and range of motion training of the orbicularis oris, masticatory muscles, and cheek muscles to strengthen the lip muscles. The tongue muscle trainer can be used to stretch the tongue and promote tongue retraction. At the same time, some cheek puffing, candle blowing, and bubble blowing can be done to enhance oral perception and lip muscle strength.

Occupational therapy

Parents should gradually guide their babies to learn self-cleaning and tidying skills, such as dressing and undressing, shoe training, and feeding training. Playing small games with children to practice fine movements can stimulate their interests, let them experience the joy of success, encourage them to pursue higher goals, and cultivate their personal self-care ability.

Psychological rehabilitation

In addition to these rehabilitation treatments for Down syndrome babies, mental health is also very important! In the process of Down syndrome babies growing up, parents need to teach their children to maintain proper grooming and hygiene, guide them to better control their emotions, communicate with them patiently, solve life difficulties together in a timely manner, actively adapt to the environment, have more contact and communication with society, and integrate into collective life.

Finally, I hope that every baby coming into this world can grow up healthy and happy, and that every baby with Down syndrome can be treated gently and have a bright future.

The popular science content of this platform has been funded by the China Association for Science and Technology's Science Popularization Department's 2022 National Science Literacy Action Project "National Society Science Popularization Capacity Improvement Project-Rehabilitation Science Popularization Service Capacity Improvement Action Plan"

The popular science content of this platform has been funded by the China Association for Science and Technology's Science Popularization Department's 2022 National Science Literacy Action Project "National Society Science Popularization Capacity Improvement Project-Rehabilitation Science Popularization Service Capacity Improvement Action Plan"