A person with Down syndrome has many obstacles to overcome when learning to talk. Even when the person learns to talk, speech can often be slow or difficult to understand. Often a stranger or acquaintance will look to a family member for clarification, much like you would for a toddler who is just learning to speak.
Some of the obstacles a person with Down syndrome must overcome include:
- Small mouth cavity, making the tongue appear larger
- Hypotonia (low muscle tone) of the tongue muscle making it difficult to control
- Apraxia of speech - difficulty imitating combination of consonant and vowel sounds
- Hearing problems
Although explaining the medical reasons and complications a person with Down syndrome may experience in their quest for speech can be helpful, it does not give a person a true understanding of these difficulties. The following activity can help give a better understanding . It clarifies the point more than words ever could.
The Marshmallow Test: Take a full size marshmallow and put it in your mouth. Do not chew or put the marshmallow in your cheek. Now, try to say your name or speak with the marshmallow sitting on your tongue. Consider the extra effort and concentration it takes to enunciate clearly. Notice how your speech is slower. How many people laugh at you?
This is what it is like for a person with Down syndrome to speak. The marshmallow represents his/her tongue and the hypotonia that makes it more difficult to control and manipulate. The decreased space represents the smaller mouth cavity. A person with Down syndrome cannot stick his/her tongue in his/her cheek. S/he cannot swallow it. S/he has to learn to work with these difficulties in order to communicate with others.
This activity is often used with children and classmates of an individual who has Down syndrome. The classmates leave with deeper respect for their peer's speech difficulty and no longer find it funny or something to laugh at.
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