Special needs ..BY: By Arni Shahida Razak ..LD: CHILDREN with Down's Syndrome need to learn things systematically but the pace must be slow and gradual. That is why quality education for them must begin as early as two weeks after birth. ARNI SHAHIDA RAZA.

(From New Straits Times (Malaysia))

CHILDREN with Down's Syndrome need to learn things systematically but the pace must be slow and gradual. That is why quality education for them must begin as early as two weeks after birth. ARNI SHAHIDA RAZAK reports.

UNLIKE most mothers, Khatijah Hussain doesn't have big plans for her third child, a 17-year-old teenager. "I'm not expecting him to become a scientist, engineer or a lawyer. All I want is for him to be able to fend for himself and to get a job, so that he wouldn't have to depend too much on other people," says Khatijah of her son, Rizwaan Syed Ahamed Marican, who is born with Down's Syndrome (DS).

Like most mothers with these special children, housewife Khatijah, 48, is grateful that her son is quite capable of doing things independently.

"He's quite a good help around the house. He folds and irons the clothes and also helps out in the kitchen. I'm very proud of him,"she says.

Her main concern, however, is …