Case Study

Maryam is a lovely, smiley 18-month-old with Down’s syndrome who is always smiling or sleeping. Maryam responds well to others and clearly recognises mum, dad, and her key worker Sunita. However, her key worker is very concerned that Maryam does not move about enough. She can sit up, and reach out for things, and has a reasonable hand grasp but does not yet stand alone or walk. Sunita asks the parents to come in to discuss how they can help Maryam to be more active. The parents are delighted by Sunita’s obvious care and concern for Maryam but mention that they are quite happy with the situation because she is responsive, happy, content and sleeps well. Sunita gently points out that Maryam, like many children with Downs’s syndrome, has poor muscle tone and is behind in starting to walk. Sunita also explains the government’s movement and nutrition guidance that the nursery adheres to. She explains that they treat all children equally, and for optimum outcomes for their child they should work with her to get Maryam to be more active. The meeting ends well, and they settle on a plan. Think about:

• How could Sunita have helped more here, and should anything else have been said or done?
• As the parents said, Maryam is happy and content, so why would they not want to leave things as they are?
• When might the setting policy have been explained to the parents?
• Can you treat all children equally when they have different abilities?

It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the response you have chosen to this scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague and ask them to tell you if they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your tutor.