Cognitive and learning processes in children with Down syndrome.
Kids with Down syndrome learn better through pictures and movement than through listening and talking.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children to kids with Down syndrome and to matched controls. They compared how each group solved visual-motor and auditory-vocal tasks. The goal was to map which mental channels were stronger or weaker in Down syndrome.
What they found
The Down syndrome group scored lower on every K-ABC processing scale. Their biggest gap was on tasks that used hearing and speaking. Their smallest gap was on tasks that used seeing and hand movements. In short, eyes-and-hands beat ears-and-voice.
How this fits with other research
Leaf et al. (2012) later showed the same kids read non-words as well as word-level peers, but only if they had enough vocabulary. That fits: weak auditory channels may not block decoding if you know the words.
Lázaro et al. (2013) and Laugeson et al. (2014) kept the same quasi-experimental design but looked at smaller slices—morphology and noun-verb use. Both found continued weakness, proving the 1987 profile holds across finer language bits.
Valdovinos (2007) added a twist twenty years on: social cognition is also weak, not spared. The 1987 visual-motor strength still stands, but we now know it does not extend to reading faces or peer cues.
Why it matters
When you plan lessons, lean on pictures, gestures, and hands-on materials. Keep spoken directions short and pair them with visuals. Check vocabulary first; if it is low, boost nouns before asking for complex grammar. The visual-motor edge is a free bridge—use it.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Put the new task on a flashcard with a photo or gesture; say the word once while pointing, then have the child match or act it out.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The primary purpose of this investigation was to study cognitive and learning processes in children with Down syndrome using a recently developed instrument, the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC). The results obtained from 20 children with Down syndrome were compared with those of 20 younger brothers and sisters of children in the experimental group and 20 mental age-matched nonretarded children. As predicted both the siblings (corrected for mental age) and the nonretarded children performed significantly better on both the Sequential and the Simultaneous Processing Scales of the K-ABC. However, there was no significant difference when the results of the Sequential Processing Scale were contrasted with those of the Simultaneous Processing Scale in all three groups. When subtests that use auditory-vocal (Number Recall) and auditory-motor (Word Order) channels of communication were compared with subtests that employ visual-vocal (Gestalt Closure) and visual-motor (Hand Movement) channels of communication, children with Down syndrome performed significantly better on the latter two tests than on the former two tests. The implications of these results as they relate to designing appropriate educational strategies for children with Down syndrome are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1987 · doi:10.1016/0891-4222(87)90038-2