Little Phoebe celebrates World Down Syndrome Day

Phoebe, who wears glasses, has been treated by our Deputy Head Orthoptist Katy Vella - and the family has plenty of praise for their experience in hospital. They were especially pleased with how our colleagues used Makaton signing to communicate with Phoebe. Makaton, or ‘key word signing,’ is a simple and easy way of communicating using signs, symbols and speech.

Phoebe’s mum Danielle has studied Makaton herself to help her daughter and has achieved numerous Makaton qualifications. She has also passed on her knowledge to her whole family. She said: “Phoebe was born at Barnsley Hospital on the 70th anniversary of the NHS, and we were all delighted by her arrival. She was born with Down Syndrome and, to be honest, we unfortunately had some negative comments about this. There was some stereotyping towards Phoebe. She has never let anything hold her back though and is such a happy little girl and loves school. She has three big brothers aged 18, 14 and 11 who all know Makaton.

“She is non-verbal, and has what is called an ‘unsafe swallow,’ meaning she can sometimes find it hard to eat and drink. But she loves to join in and her teachers say she is doing really well. She even makes up her own Makaton signs and loves nothing better than an ice lolly!”

The family live in Elsecar and Phoebe attends St Helen’s School in Hoyland. Her mum Danielle, 40, is a Community Champion at Hoyland Tesco and her dad is a driving instructor. Phoebe regularly visits Barnsley Hospital for eyesight checks and was recently treated for a cyst on her eye. Danielle said: “It was like a little pea, a red lump, under her eyelid and was itchy and irritating her. We did talk about surgery but she was eventually treated with antibiotics and now it is improving. She has taken it all in her stride.”

Phoebe will be celebrating World Down Syndrome Day at her school, where children are planting sunflowers and decorating pebbles as part of activities for the event. They’re also supporting the ‘Lots of Socks’ campaign where people wear mismatched or colourful socks to start a conversation about Down Syndrome. Phoebe also took part last summer in Barnsley Hospital Charity’s first ever Grand Ball at Tankersley Manor. She joined other youngsters who dressed in their best princess or prince attire, complete with crowns and tiaras, for a spectacular day to help celebrate the 75th birthday of the NHS.

Deputy Head Orthoptist Katy Vella added that it was a pleasure to help patients like Phoebe via hospital clinics and said: “Orthoptists play a vital role in the assessment and development of vision in children, including those with special educational needs such as Down Syndrome. We are specially trained to assess patients with additional needs such as being non-verbal.”