Executive functions and adaptive behaviour in individuals with Down syndrome.
Working memory and inhibition drive communication, daily living, and social skills in Down syndrome, so teach these EF skills directly.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents and teachers to fill out surveys about 100 children with Down syndrome. They looked at how well each child could plan, remember, and stop impulses. Then they matched these skills to how well the child talked, dressed, and played with others.
Kids were grouped by age to see if the links changed as they grew.
What they found
Working memory and stopping impulses were the two skills that best predicted every area of daily living. Communication, self-care, and social skills all rose when these two areas were strong. Age mattered: older kids showed wider gaps in daily living skills when working memory lagged.
How this fits with other research
Hong et al. (2021) pooled 57 studies and showed big EF problems across Down syndrome. The new survey keeps the same picture but adds a map: it tells you which EF skills to fix so daily skills improve.
Myers et al. (2018) saw the same EF-adaptive link in autism. Now we know the pattern crosses diagnoses. If you have a mixed group, you can still target working memory and inhibition with confidence.
Whiteside et al. (2022) studied kids with broad developmental delay and also found EF explains adaptive scores. The new Down-syndrome-only data line up with that wider finding, so the rule seems true for both broad and specific groups.
Why it matters
You now have a clear, small set of skills to watch. When a learner with Down syndrome struggles with dressing or talking, check working memory and inhibition first. Add short memory games and stop-and-go activities to your session plan. Track both the EF targets and the daily skill you care about; gains should show on both graphs within weeks.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous research has explored executive functions (EFs) and adaptive behaviour in children and adolescents with Down syndrome (DS), but there is a paucity of research on the relationship between the two in this population. This study aims to shed light on the profile of EFs and adaptive behaviour in DS, exploring the differences by age and investigating the relationship between these two domains. METHOD: Parents/caregivers of 100 individuals with DS from 3 to 16 years old participated in the study. The sample was divided into preschoolers (3-6.11 years old) and school-age children (7-16 years old). Parents/caregivers completed either the Preschool Version of the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (for children 2-6.11 years old) or the Second Edition of the same Inventory (for individuals 7 + years old). Adaptive behaviour was assessed with the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale - Interview, Second Edition. RESULTS: Findings suggest that individuals with DS have overall difficulties, but also patterns of strength and weakness in their EFs and adaptive behaviour. The preschool-age and school-age children's EF profiles differed slightly. While both age groups showed Emotional Control as a relative strength and Working Memory as a weakness, the school-age group revealed further weaknesses in Shift and Plan/Organise. As concerns adaptive behaviour, the profiles were similar in the two age groups, with Socialisation as a strength, and Communication and Daily Living Skills as weaknesses, but with a tendency for preschoolers to obtain intermediate scores for the latter. When the relationship between EFs and adaptive behaviour was explored, Working Memory predicted Communication in the younger group, while in the older group the predictors varied, depending on the adaptive domains: Working Memory was a predictor of Communication, Inhibit of Daily Living Skills, and Inhibit and Shift of Socialisation. CONCLUSION: As well as elucidating the EF profiles and adaptive behaviour in individuals with DS by age, this study points to the role of EFs in adaptive functioning, providing important information for targeted interventions.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2022 · doi:10.1111/jir.12897