Assessing the abilities of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities to engage in cognitive behaviour therapy: a pilot study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective People with intellectual disabilities have historically often been excluded from cognitive based therapies, due to their cognitive deficits. However, adults with intellectual disabilities have been found to have the core cognitive abilities necessary to engage in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Despite this emerging evidence, the capacity for children with intellectual disabilities to engage with cognitive based therapies has not been fully explored. Method Fourteen children, between the ages of 8 and 17 with intellectual disabilities, completed cognitive mediation tasks and a discrimination task. Five had a moderate intellectual disability, six had a mild intellectual disability and three had intellectual functioning in the borderline range. Inclusion criteria: These tasks completed assessed children’s ability to identify, discriminate between, and link thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Results Potential correlates of intelligence, verbal abilities and age were investigated. Participants’ performance on the discrimination task was varied. High accuracy was seen in the cognitive mediation tasks. Conclusion Results from this pilot study demonstrate that children with intellectual disabilities may have some of the skills required for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, however children may require some training in cognitive mediation tasks before completing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. As children have the foundational skills to engage in cognitive based therapies, this supports the need for future research trials investigating the use of adapted Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for children with intellectual disabilities.