Recall memory in children with Down syndrome and typically developing peers matched on developmental age.
Kids with Down syndrome can recall single actions after a month but lose track of the correct order.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Schertz et al. (2016) watched kids with Down syndrome and kids without it. Both groups had the same developmental age. The team taught each child a short sequence of actions. After one month they asked the kids to repeat the actions in order.
They counted how many actions each child could recall. They also checked if the child put the actions in the right order.
What they found
Kids with Down syndrome could recall some actions, but they remembered fewer total steps than their peers. They also failed to show any memory for the correct order. The typical kids did both tasks better.
In short, the Down syndrome group had trouble with the sequence, not just the items.
How this fits with other research
Bhaumik et al. (2009) saw the same kids do better on short-term spatial memory than on verbal memory. The new study extends that idea: long-term recall of order is also weak, even when spatial cues are present.
Laugeson et al. (2014) found working-memory and planning deficits in preschoolers with Down syndrome. H et al. now show that these early gaps carry into delayed recall tasks months later.
Vanvuchelen (2016) showed that preschoolers with Down syndrome make few motor errors when copying actions, but they swap whole actions around. The recall data confirm that the order, not the action itself, is the weak spot.
Why it matters
When you teach a daily living routine, break the order into small chunks and give visual cues for each step. Do not assume that recalling one step means the child will remember what comes next. Re-teach the sequence often and check order accuracy, not just completion.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add color-coded step cards to the task analysis and shuffle them for quick order checks.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Whereas research has indicated that children with Down syndrome (DS) imitate demonstrated actions over short delays, it is presently unknown whether children with DS recall information over lengthy delays at levels comparable with typically developing (TD) children matched on developmental age. METHOD: In the present research, 10 children with DS and 10 TD children participated in a two-session study to examine basic processes associated with hippocampus-dependent recall memory. At the first session, the researcher demonstrated how to complete a three-step action sequence with novel stimuli; immediate imitation was permitted as an index of encoding. At the second session, recall memory was assessed for previously modelled sequences; children were also presented with two novel three-step control sequences. RESULTS: The results indicated that group differences were not apparent in the encoding of the events or the forgetting of information over time. Group differences were also not observed when considering the recall of individual target actions at the 1-month delay, although TD children produced more target actions overall at the second session relative to children with DS. Group differences were found when considering memory for temporal order information, such that TD children evidenced recall relative to novel control sequences, whereas children with DS did not. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that children with DS may have difficulty with mnemonic processes associated with consolidation/storage and/or retrieval processes relative to TD children.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2016 · doi:10.1111/jir.12242