​Children with Down Syndrome present with a distinct facial appearance, intellectual disability, developmental delays and may have thyroid or heart disease related illnesses in some cases. Early diagnosis, treatment and referral at a young age is crucial for better outcomes.
These early interventions include sessions with a team of therapists and special educators who can treat each child's specific situation helping them manage the genetic disorder. 
The Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) employs rehabilitation services professionals such as occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech therapists and audiologists, amongst other health professionals, at healthcare facilities (including PHC facilities). These professionals are well trained to assist children with Down Syndrome to develop skills in self-care, speech and language development, gross and fine motor development, cognitive, intellectual and perception skills. 
Physical therapy may include activities and exercises that help build gross and fine motor skills, increase muscle strength and or muscle tone, improve posture and balance. Speech-language therapy improves their communication skills and use of language more effectively, conversation skills, pronunciation skills, etc. 
Psychologists provide emotional behavioural therapies that help to find useful responses to both desirable and undesirable behaviours, assists the child to deal with emotions and build coping and interpersonal skills, and support parents or caregivers of children with Down's Syndrome manage their day-to-day challenges and reach their full potential. 
Considering the pivotal role played by education in child development, children with Down Syndrome are referred to the Gauteng Department of Education for appropriate school placement as early as possible to avoid delays in admission and their overall schooling. Parents and or caregivers are supported in various ways including family support visits by social workers, counselling, dietary advice to avoid obesity, education about the condition and how to assist the child develop the skills of daily living they need to survive.
The treatment is based on each individual's physical, developmental and intellectual needs as well as personal strengths and limitations, and structured in such a manner that they can receive care while living at home and in the community. Supportive therapies and interventions may start as early as soon after birth, and continue throughout childhood and adolescence, and proceed throughout life-course depending on the severity or need. 
Support groups are available, coordinated and facilitated at government healthcare facilities to provide support to families, carers and children living with Down Syndrome. There are community-led and organised support groups that help augment the work of healthcare facilities or extend to areas experiencing access challenges.
Some children may be issued with assistive devices that enhance learning or make tasks easier to complete, e.g. hearing aids, touch screen computers or computers with large letter keyboards.
About 18% of the patients' headcounts from the rehabilitation departments (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and audiology) in Gauteng are children under the age of 5 years. These are the children presenting with various medical conditions, including Down Syndrome[M1] .
Despite all services rendered by the GDoH, persons with Down Syndrome, continue to face a myriad of challenges from universal access to healthcare, education, social inclusion to barriers related to economic participation. However, while we acknowledge the Department's early life programmes in the identification and response to the health needs of children with Down Syndrome, a lot more needs to be done to support this community along the life course. 
As early health and wellness interventions yield fruit, adolescent and adult support initiatives are needed to assist in the development, inclusion and integration of persons with Down Syndrome in broader society. Effective collaboration with non-governmental partners and other departments provides an untapped opportunity for persons with Down Syndrome to live long and thriving lives. 
The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital has recently launched a treatment group and support group to increase the support for the caregivers of children with Down Syndrome, combined with treatment sessions to reduce the burden on caregivers to travel to the hospital more than once a month, in conjunction with the Down Syndrome Association in Gauteng. 
These are the many ways in which the GDOH is contributing towards improving the support systems for children with Down Syndrome and their families, in line with the World Down Syndrome Day 2025 theme: "Improve Our Support Systems".