We met Youssef’s mother after SSSD ORVs had monitored her son. She had come to the community center to get help for him, a 5-year-old Down syndrome boy living with a displaced family from Saqba (Damascus Reef) at one of their relatives’ because they could not afford to rent a house. He was then referred to the Home Rehabilitation Program by the Child Protection case manager.

After talking to the mother during several sessions to explain the Program’s purposes and the way to use it, a direct evaluation of the boy’s condition was conducted and several questions were put to her in order to develop an implementation plan that she could apply with the child at home through a definite routine. The mother was also handed some of the Program tools to ensure her full cooperation and help her achieve the desired objectives.

Then the boy was integrated into a Friendship group and regularly followed up among his peers during group activities. After a specified period of time had elapsed, and reviewing the objectives set before, it turned out that the boy had reached them all:

• The boy is now able to solve his problems by asking his mother for help, while he used to beat other children in previous stages.
• He listens to his mother’s injunctions regarding behavioral control and abides by the rules she sets for him, such as sitting down when someone comes to the house, not messing up with his father’s things, etc.
• He is able to classify tools as carpenter’s tools, kitchen utensils, physician’s instruments, etc.
• He can count up to 3 and has integrated the number concept (he can handle cubes and other objects counting from 1 to 3).
• He can formulate words that express sizes and amounts, such as: big and small, much and little. For example, a large spoon for eating and a little spoon for tea; “I will pour a little tea”; “My big brother”; etc.
• When back home, he talks about things and persons he encountered, especially familiar ones. For example, “Brother played with us with the ball”; he relates the songs he learned and his new experiences to his brothers; etc.
• He can use opposites when speaking about persons and things: “My mate is big,” “That man is tall/short,” and can identify images that illustrate opposite concepts using given tools.
• He can identify and read more than 10 characters, including his name’s (direct application with the boy).
• He can rely on himself in doing some daily tasks without help from adults (washing hands, putting on his clothes, folding clothes, helping in setting the table, etc.).

Working with both mother and child continues in order to set new plans to achieve the subsequent objectives. The dramatic change in Youssef’s life was expressed by the mother thus:
“When I came to the center and learned about the Program and the importance of the plan for my child, the way it works and its objectives became clear to me. I benefited from the plan a lot and experienced immediate results during its application at home. This provided me with effective solutions to several points I observed on Youssef, and this prompted me to make simple tools for my son to serve those objectives. I found myself spontaneously involved in making simple plans to develop some of his skills, in addition to the tools and games that already served the objectives.”

One of the mother’s tools to develop Youssef’s perception and skills is a special notebook in which she puts down all the elements that the boy recognizes, like fruits and animals, with pictures taken from old manuals and captions including the name of each item and some information about it. For instance, “A cow give us milk and says muuu,” etc.

The mother, Youssef’s Guardian Angel, continues to follow up her son’ blooming in the framework of the Rehabilitation Program and seeks to integrate him into the school curriculum.