Cognitive stimulation in socioeconomically disadvantaged children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a case series.
A low-cost, 24-week tabletop-game program lifted executive functions and social skills for two preschoolers with developmental delay in Guatemala.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rodríguez-Prieto et al. (2024) ran a small case series in Guatemala. They gave a 24-week cognitive stimulation program to two children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The kids lived in low-income homes and had limited school support.
The program used games and puzzles to train executive functions and social thinking. Staff delivered it twice a week in a local clinic. They tracked changes in attention, planning, and peer interaction.
What they found
Both children with developmental delay showed clear gains in flexible thinking and social problem solving. Their scores rose more than a small group of neurotypical peers who joined the same games.
Parents reported the kids started sharing toys and waiting their turn at home. Teachers noticed longer focus during circle time.
How this fits with other research
The result lines up with Ávila-Álvarez et al. (2022) and Polak-Passy et al. (2024). Both studies ran 17–24 non-ABA enrichment sessions for preschoolers with autism or delay and saw social boosts.
Gao et al. (2026) looked at video-game versions of brain training. Their meta-analysis found small-to-medium executive-function gains, matching the size seen here with low-tech games.
Tse et al. (2024) showed two-wheel cycling also lifts executive functions in autistic kids. Together these papers say the activity just needs to be mentally engaging, not high-tech.
Why it matters
You can copy this cheap game-based plan in low-resource settings. Pick 8–10 tabletop games that require turn-taking, rule switching, and joint attention. Run them twice a week for 20 minutes. Track one social skill and one executive-function target per child. The study shows even two kids can make visible progress when activities are structured and sustained.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Place a turn-taking board game in your next session and collect data on one social initiation per play round.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Research shows how conditions in socio-economically disadvantaged environments can be a risk factor for children’s cognitive development. Consequently, children with neurodevelopmental disorders growing up in such environments face a double challenge. This study analyzed the effect of a comprehensive cognitive stimulation program on 4 single case studies comprising children with neurodevelopmental disorders from Guatemala. A descriptive study was conducted, using a case series approach, consisting of four participants with neurodevelopmental disorders, and a neurotypical group of 126 children. Participants in the neurotypical group were randomly assigned to either a control or experimental reference group. Cognitive assessments were performed pre- and post-intervention for all participants. Children in the experimental group received a comprehensive cognitive stimulation program between assessments. Two participants with neurodevelopmental disorders also received the stimulation program while the other two children with neurodevelopmental disorders performed the same task as the control group, specifically, regular reading activities. The experimental group exhibited a significant improvement in executive functions (inhibition, flexibility, and planning). The two experimental group children with neurodevelopmental disorders exhibited improved social cognition, showing a larger improvement compared to neurotypical children in their group, as well as compared to the two control children. However, although the reading program improved the language skills of the neurotypical control group, the children with neurodevelopmental disorders did not show as much improvement. These results suggest that specialized interventions are beneficial for children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, but importantly, may have a larger impact on children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2024 · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1365697