News

It is with sadness that we report that Sarah Duffen died peacefully in her home in Devon. Sarah and her family were instrumental in inspiring the groundbreaking research that led to our work over the past 45 years.

We are excited to announce LearningTracker - a platform for delivering evidence-based recommendations and practical advice, carefully adapted for each individual child.

Registration is now open for the 2025 Down Syndrome Research Forum. This year, we have added an additional day to accommodate more speakers than ever before. The forum will run online over three days from 17 to 19 March.

Earlier this year, we announced our plans for new progress tracking and advice services. We presented details of the systems that we are developing to deliver these services at the 2024 Down Syndrome Research Forum. We also discussed how we hope they will transform future developmental and educational scientific research.

We have launched a new community website, where families, professionals and researchers can chat, share and collaborate with us and each other. Sign up for free and join in the conversation.

The 2024 Down Syndrome Research Forum will be held online on 25 and 26 April. The program is now available and registration is open.

Online courses from Down Syndrome Education International are now available with low cost monthly subscriptions.

Registration is now open for the 2023 Down Syndrome Research Forum, which is being held online on 27 and 28 April. This year's forum will include researchers and practitioners from around the world, speaking on a range of topics relevant to early intervention and education for children with Down syndrome.

Would you like to help improve education for young people with Down syndrome by volunteering with DSE? We are looking for volunteers to serve as Trustees of Down Syndrome Education International, and for volunteers to help with software development.

The Down Syndrome Research Forum 2023 will be held online on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th April 2023.

DSE is pleased to be partnering with researchers at the University of York and the University of Manchester in a pilot evaluation of an app designed to improve foundation speech skills with infants with Down syndrome.

A new, online edition of the Reading and Language Intervention for Children with Down Syndrome (RLI) handbook is now available. RLI online includes a digital edition of the handbook, together with the assessment and record forms, and example teaching materials and videos needed to deliver the intervention.

The National Down Syndrome Society and DSE have worked together to publish guidelines for inclusive education in the USA. The new resource aims to improve the development and educational outcomes for individuals with Down syndrome from birth to adult life by providing a guide to evidence-based practices.

The programme for the 2022 Down Syndrome Research Forum has been announced and registration is now open.

A new toolkit offering guidance for speech and language therapists has been published by a team of therapists working in the UK NHS. They hope the toolkit will inform effective support for young people with Down syndrome.

The Down Syndrome Research Forum 2022 will be held online on 10th and 11th March, 2022.

Following the postponement of last year's Down Syndrome Research Forum due to the pandemic, the 2021 forum moved online for the first time, involving many more participants in many more countries than ever before.

The Down Syndrome Research Forum 2021 was held on 11 and 12 March. The full program is now available and registration is open.

New research estimates current and past populations of people living with Down syndrome in European countries for the first time. This research will help us to better understand the factors influencing birth rates and population size and improve planning for services for people with Down syndrome.

We are sad to announce that Roberta Buckley, died last week, aged 51. Roberta was the adopted daughter of DSE's founder, Professor Sue Buckley and sister of the charity's CEO, Frank Buckley.

DSE has launched two new online courses, offering practical support to families to help their child's speech, language and reading development at home. The courses are easily accessible online and include access to DSE staff for additional advice and individual guidance.

The next step in See and Learn Language and Reading is now available. See and Learn Sentences 1 is designed to help children with Down syndrome learn to read, understand and to use longer sentences when talking.

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