Hi again, Mark!  This is a continuation of my previous reply to you:

MH>  Our son used to "skoot" on his butt very fast on
MH>  the floor.


          ... using his arms to push himself around?



MH>  He never crawled.  He went from skooting to walking
MH>  and then to running. :)


          Nora went from creeping... i.e. pushing herself around with
extended arms while lying on her tummy... to standing & walking with
the aid of a solid object such as the coffee table.  Kids with DS who can
bend their knees & keep them together may have accomplished a
phenomenal task in developing the muscle strength necessary to counteract
the opposing muscles.  Once they've done that
... why waste time crawling when you can walk??  And they're off... [chuckle].



MH>  There is one very unique thing with our son.
MH>  I have heard most children with DS have a large
MH>  straight line on the palm of their hands.


          The so-called "simian crease"?  IMHO this is a term
originating from an era in which people with DS were generally regarded as
less than human.  My understanding is that a syndrome is a cluster of
features, any or all of which may be found in the population at large. 
Some people with DS have the "simian crease"... Nora doesn't. 
I'm not prepared to say how many others exhibit this feature because I have
little opportunity to study their palms in detail.  :-)



MH>  Our son has a straight line on one of his hands,
MH>  but not the other.  I'm not sure why or what that
MH>  could mean, if anything.


          It might mean something to a palmist... and from that standpoint
I'd be interested in knowing which is which.  Otherwise I wouldn't attach a
lot of importance to it because other people's bodies aren't symmetrical
either.  :-)



MH>  He understand most everything.  His big problem is
MH>  trying to express himself in words.  He is getting
MH>  it though, just taking a bit.


          If he has difficulty getting his tongue around the words because
his tongue doesn't quite fit his mouth, that's not unusual for kids with
DS.  As I remarked about one of Nora's ward mates who couldn't speak
because she'd had a stroke... she understands what we're saying, but she
can't talk.  I knew I was on the right track when she grinned from ear to
ear & nodded enthusiastically.

          Even among "typical" children & adults, generating
speech requires a more complex skill set than understanding speech.  Kids
who are ready to learn how to express themselves in words may be able to
use gestures & sign language to cover the transitional period during
which they still have difficulty using oral speech.  Nora went to a
preschool group in which both were used together. The group included kids
who had developmental delays for any number of reasons
... not just kids with DS... and contrary to some people's fears, we found
she didn't become overly dependent on sign language.  While it's a useful
skill to have in one's repertoire, the majority of others don't understand
it.  The net result, in Nora's case, was that it faded as her oral speech
improved....  :-)



MH>  We have a total of 6 kids.  Only one between the two
MH>  of us (being our son). Everyone is unique and special
MH>  in their own way..


          Exactly.  Years ago... when the state of the art was that there
were three million possible combinations of genes... a distraught mother
approached me to ask why her son was so different from her daughters.  I
told her I found it rather amazing that her daughters were so alike. 
Nowadays three million is considered a gross underestimate, but I think the
same principle applies.  ;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+