Story of Betty Ann: A Girl with Down Syndrome

NeuroMovement^® Testimonial

“Betty Ann is doing wonderfully well. Last time you saw her, I think she was three and beginning to walk with a sturdy gait.

Now, she is jumping and she is beginning to run. She is growing so quickly, it’s amazing. She is still quite a peanut, but you know what it is when they start to look like little people. She goes to a regular nursery school, and the teachers are just so impressed with her. She knows the routines better than a lot of the children, and she is really keeping pace with all of the skills they are practicing.

Her speech is coming along more quickly now as well. In short, we are really proud of her and are enjoying every minute of watching her grow.

Here are Betty Ann’s accomplishments at two, following just four lessons with you:

• During the third session, I noted a definite shift in her babbling. It began to sound much more like words than it had previously. Then, when we got home she began to use some of her language skills right away….
• She began to wave, a full wave hello, rather than her usual discreet wave, and say “hello” and “goodbye” alternately over and over again.
• She began repeating words spontaneously, which is something we were hoping she would begin to do over the next several months. For example, I said, “I see you,” and Betty Ann said, “I see” very clearly back to me. This happened in several different situations.
• She also has begun to use some new language to communicate her needs. I dropped a piece of laundry yesterday, and she held it up and said, “here” very clearly and meaningfully.
• She has learned new vocabulary with ease. I was unpacking boxes the other day, and she learned the word “box” and was saying it over and over again, excited at her accomplishment.
• And on the physical side on things, she continues to use both sides, as you showed her during her lessons. She will now hold up either foot for a shoe or a sock. She is no longer thrown off balance at all when she comes onto her right leg. That really stuck with her, which in itself is amazing, because it usually takes a while for something new to really become a consistent part of her repertoire.

I can’t wait for her to work with you again.”

—Betty Ann’s Mother

Additional Resources

Watch videos of Anat Baniel working with children with Down syndrome.

Betty Ann is working with Marcy Lindheimer, a Senior Trainer and Certified ABM NeuroMovement^® Practitioner in NYC. You can contact Marcy at marcylindheimer1@mac.com or call 212-362-8597.