Children with Down's syndrome need guidance
Children with Down's syndrome need guidance
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Parents of children with Down's syndrome need to provide guidance
and information on reproductive health when their children enter
puberty, an expert says.
Psychologist Lucia R.R. Royanto said during a seminar here on
Saturday that children with Down's syndrome experienced puberty
like other children, but the children with Down's syndrome were
not used to expressing their feelings.
"Parents need to understand that without correct information
and proper education on reproductive health, children with Down's
syndrome will misbehave," Lucia said during the seminar,
organized by the Indonesian Special Olympics Association.
She suggested that parents patiently explain reproductive
health to their children using simple language, as they have the
capacity to process and understand information.
"The parents should tell their daughters what menstruation is,
when it happens and what should be done when it happens. Boys
must also know about their private parts, which cannot be exposed
in public," she said.
"Then parents need to slowly explain what masturbation is, and
advise them not to do it in public."
Intellectual disabilities are divided into three levels:
heavy, moderate and mild.
People with IQs below 50 are classified as having a heavy
intellectual disability, while those with an IQ of between 50 and
70 are classified as having a moderate disability. Mild
intellectual disability is classified as an IQ between 70 and 85.
Despite limited language and math abilities, children with
mild intellectual disabilities are able to follow regular classes
until the sixth grade with patient mentoring.
Children with moderate intellectual disabilities usually are
not able to follow regular school classes, however, they are able
to take care of themselves with proper training.
"As for those who are heavily retarded, intensive assistance
and monitoring are required as they are not able to understand
things related to puberty," Lucia said.
Like other children, children with Down's syndrome go through
puberty between the ages of 12 and 20, depending on their
hormonal changes.
"It is a phase when children try to find their identity and
start to experience sexual drives as a result of hormonal
changes," she said.
In many cases, children with Down's syndrome are confused in
their search for an identity and in dealing with sexual problems,
Lucia said.
Therefore, she said, parents should take the initiative by
talking with their children about puberty-related issues.