Executive function and academic achievement in primary – grade students with Down syndrome

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Background While delays in cognitive development are detectable during early development in Down syndrome, the neuropsychological and biomedical underpinnings of cognitive skill acquisition in this population remain poorly understood. Method To explore this issue, 38 infants with Down syndrome [mean chronological age = 9.65 months; SD = 3.64] completed the Bayley Scales of Infant Development‐III and a set of laboratory tasks that measured sustained attention (duration of visual attention during a 1‐min object exploration task), attention shifting (mean latency to shift attention on an alternating object presentation task) and visual short‐term memory (dishabituation to a novel object on a change preference task). Results Latency to shift attention was negatively associated with Bayley Cognitive Scale raw scores, even when controlling for the effects of chronological age, r (33) = −.41, P = .02. In addition, prematurity status was associated with latency to shift attention. Conclusions Early attention shifting may be an important factor that facilitates overall cognitive skill acquisition in infants with Down syndrome, and premature birth may be a risk factor for difficulties on this dimension.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Correlates of early cognition in infants with Down syndrome

Fidler

Schworer

Will

et al. 2018

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“…; Will et al . ). Results in this study suggest important implications for working memory difficulties in primarily young adults with DS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Will et al . ), to date, there have been few studies of adulthood in DS with a focus on well‐adapted outcomes, such as employment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive behaviour, executive function and employment in adults with Down syndrome

Tomaszewski

Fidler

Talapatra

et al. 2017

Background Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) demonstrate difficulties with aspects of executive function (EF) and adaptive behaviour across the lifespan. There is a current lack of information regarding how these difficulties relate to employment outcomes in adulthood. This study evaluated the adaptive behaviour and EF profiles of individuals with DS during early adulthood and the association between these areas of functioning and employment status. Methods Parents or caregivers of primarily young adults with DS (n = 31; mean chronological age = 25.9 years; SD = 5.92) completed the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales -Second Edition the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function -Adult version and a demographic questionnaire that requested information regarding adult employment status. Results Findings indicated a distinct pattern of relative strengths and challenges in adaptive behaviour and EF. In addition, the EF sub-domain of working memory was a significant predictor of employment status.

“…; Will et al . ). Thus, gaining a better understanding of the potential impact of sleep problems on the executive functioning of children with DS will inform intervention packages to maximise academic performance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Impact of sleep on executive functioning in school‐age children with Down syndrome

Esbensen

Hoffman

2018