Hello, my name is Danielle, my picture will be on a lot of pages on this site because my Dad has made it. I was born in Cyprus and I am 3 years old. I have Down's syndrome. This doesn't mean a lot to me as I can do everything my friends can it just takes me a little bit longer to get there.
I go to a mainstream playgroup where I have lots of friends. We play a lot of games and do some work as well. I am learning Makaton, at the moment, I am very good at it I know a lot of words and my Mum and Dad and the teachers at playgroup have to work hard to keep up with me. I get most of my signs from the Makaton Nursery Rhymes video with Dave Benson Phillips which is one of my favourite videos. I also like to watch the Fun Song Factory videos and the Teletubbies because I like to join in with the songs and dances.
One of my favourite hobbies is running away, I don't like to sit in my pram and would rather walk everywhere. Mum and Dad keep making me hold hands but I like to let go and run away so they have to chase me. When we go shopping I like to go up and down the escalators, if my Dad would let me I would do that all day. I also like to go to the supermarket with my Dad, I try to wind him up by climbing out of the trolley all the time, then I have a rest from that and try to empty the trolley by putting all the shopping in other people's trolleys. That is fun!!!
I don't like to eat the food everybody else eats. I eat breakfast cereals, chicken soup and yoghurt but my favourite are biscuits(that was the first makaton sign I learned) and bananas. If Mum and Dad try to give me anything else I refuse to open my mouth that is guaranteed to annoy them.
I have been getting Portage or other early intervention since I was 2 weeks old. A nice lady in Cyprus called Aristi helped my mum and dad by giving them some exercises to stimulate me and strengthen my muscles. When I was born I was a very floppy baby and these exercises helped me strengthen my neck muscles so I could hold my head up. Dad says the one of the strangest exercises to stimulate me was lying me down on greaseproof paper and letting me wriggle as I heard the paper crinkle. These exercises must have worked as everybody says how fast and strong I am. When I came back to England I started getting Portage properly. A lady called Freda used to come to our house and work with my Mum and Dad. Since then we have moved twice and I have had quite a few different Portage home visitors. I am a big girl now and go to playschool five mornings a week so I can't have Portage anymore but I recommend it to all of you little ones.
Sometimes my mum and dad and my big sister Emma don't understand what I want to do and then I get frustrated and start to misbehave. I don't mean to be naughty but it is hard for me when I don't know the words in Makaton. I am trying to say some words now to make it easier for people to understand me. I can say about ten words and can sign over a hundred. I like to sing my songs in Makaton as well, especially if I can get mum and dad to join in.
My Story Continues
