Characteristics of shifting ability in children with mild intellectual disabilities: an experimental study with a task-switching paradigm.
Switch-cost patterns in ID are heterogeneous—some kids show none—so use low-demand tasks to avoid conflating shifting with IQ.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Shire et al. (2022) tested how kids with mild intellectual disability switch between two simple tasks.
They used a computer game that flipped rules every few trials.
Twenty-four students took part; IQs ranged 50-70.
What they found
Half the kids showed a normal switch cost: slower on rule-change trials.
The other half showed zero cost; they switched as fast as they repeated.
IQ score did not predict which group a child landed in.
How this fits with other research
Cordova et al. (1993) already showed that many kids with moderate or severe ID can pass hard identity-matching tests.
Shire et al. (2022) now adds that shifting skill is also uneven inside mild ID.
Together the papers warn: don’t assume a task is “too hard” from the label alone.
Shi et al. (2020) used the same lab-task style to split ASD and schizophrenia boys by error type; the 2022 ID study mirrors that logic—look at fine data, not just the diagnosis.
Why it matters
If you run fluency or conditional-discrimination programs, start with a quick switch probe.
Kids who show no switch cost can handle denser mixed trials; kids who bog down need blocked practice first.
Matching task format to the child’s shifting profile can cut errors and escape-maintained behavior that arise from confusion, not lack of intellect.
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Join Free →Run a five-trial mini-switch probe (color vs. shape) before your next conditional-discrimination program; block or mix trials based on the child’s speed drop.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Shifting enables flexible switch between tasks or mental sets. It is a component of the executive function that plays critical roles in human behaviour control. However, shifting ability in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) has not been well clarified because of the use of intellectually demanding tasks in previous studies. The present study invented a novel shifting task with minimal intellectual demands and aimed to clarify the characteristics of shifting in adolescents with ID. METHODS: Adolescents with ID (n = 21) and chronological-age-matched (n = 10) and mental-age-matched controls (n = 33) performed a novel shifting task with simple rule switching (i.e. change in direction). Analyses focused on the switch cost or the increase in the reaction time associated with rule switching. RESULTS: Two subtypes of adolescents with ID were found with respect to the switch cost: one that lacks it and another with an increased switch cost. The lack of a switch cost was unique to the subgroup adolescents with ID and was not indicated in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that shifting in adolescents with ID does not depend solely on their intellectual function and is highly heterogeneous. This finding further implies that executive functions, including shifting, must be evaluated separately from their intellectual functions.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2022 · doi:10.1111/jir.12974