Twenty clients with Down's syndrome (DS) and 21 clients with non-Down's syndrome (NDS) learning disabilities were assessed using specially selected neuropsychological assessment tools at two time points separated by twelve months. Evidence was found to support hypothesis 1 which suggested that people with DS show a greater decline in social abilities with age, compared with other groups of people with learning disabilities. Statistically, score changes reflecting the social abilities of the DS clients were found to be significantly greater (p < .002) than those of the NDS clients.Findings were explained in terms of poor language abilities in DS people generally, and the link between declining social abilities and dementia. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery
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