I don’t remember how long after Donna started pulling up on furniture that she started to walk. It was a major turning point however. Like with any child, she started by pulling up to a standing positions on the furniture. Next she started cruising along by holding onto the furniture. I guess the next big step was when she would take an independent step between one piece of furniture to the next. You could try placing two pieces of furniture or two sturdy tall toys relatively close to eachother. For a while my daughter used a rolling walker, provided by the physical therapist to give her a little support to help her get around. The therapist also used a treadmill and a harness in school. There have been studies that show treadmill training improves the gait of children with DS. However, we never did this ourselves. Only the therapist used the treadmill in the school. (It involved using a harness and supervising her very carefully because she could fall, etc. Now she is walking all over the place, but it really did seem like she never would at times. I remember the therapists used to assure me that she would, but I was convinced Donna would be their first case that would never ever walk. I feel that way now in regard to her talking, but I am trying to be patient. Not one word yet. At school she points to some pictures to communicate her needs. (Frankly I am amazed she is even able to do this.) I was worried that she would become too dependent on the picture system and never want to talk, but they assure me that will not happen. They say they have to give her some way to communicate before the actual speech comes in so that she can make that connection. She knows a few signs, but they feel she gets distracted by the signing and does better with the picture (PECS) sysytem. I completely understand how hard it is for you to wait for your little one to pass these milestones. Hang in there.
