Abstract

ESQUIVEL-HERRERA¹, Maritza. Children with Down Syndrome: Life Stories of Parents. Educare [online]. 2015, vol.19, n.1, pp.311-331. ISSN 1409-4258.

This paper is based on the premise that early stimulation is the appropriate program to start the integral care and education of newborns with Down Syndrome, with the primary objective being to optimize their cognitive, physical and socio-emotional capabilities. For this purpose, a naturalist paradigm and a descriptive case type approach were used, mainly with qualitative data related to the life stories of parents with Down Syndrome children. Parents (9 mothers and one father) participated voluntarily in the research project. One of the instruments used was the compilation of life histories, which were collected though interviews to parents and were systematized in the form of chronicles. Another instrument was phrases or sentences to fill in the blanks, which were used to know the deepest impressions experienced by parents before and after the birth of their Down Syndrome child. This paper is intended to provide support to those who experience daily situations similar to the ones mentioned here and, particularly to impact on the time management in the integral development of children with this condition.

Keywords : Down Syndrome; life stories; early stimulation; education.

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