The Contribution of Post-secondary Academic Courses on Crystallized and Fluid Tests of Adults with Intellectual Disability with/without Down Syndrome

Lifshitz H

doi:10.4172/2469-6676.100060

Abstract

The study's goal was to examine the influence of postsecondary education (PSE) in the form of academic courses at the School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, on the cognitive performance of adults with intellectual disability (ID). The sample included adults who participate in PSE (N=21; CA=26-59) and a control group of adults who participate in leisure activities, but not in PSE (N=28; CA=25.5-59). The Participation in Cognitively-stimulating Activities Questionnaire was used. The participants rated their participation in cognitively-stimulating activities during the week. These were grouped into five main activities: Table games, watching TV, reading, using technological devices, participating in PSE. A crystallized and fluid battery was administered. Mixed regression with chronological age, etiology, and participation in the five main activities as independent variables indicated that participation in PSE contributed to semantic fluency, homophones and the Raven matrices. Path analysis suggested that the five main activities predict performance on the crystallized and fluid tests. The opposite model was insufficient. The findings support the Compensation Age Theory and the Cognitive Activity Theory for populations with ID with/without DS. Their cognitive performance is determined not only by age and etiology, but also by lifestyle, such as participation in cognitively-stimulating activities, and especially PSE.

Highlights

Background characteristic chronological age (CA)Tables Game TVReading Technological device postsecondary education (PSE)–academic courses Synonyms Analogy Control (N=29) SD Range F p ηp2 4.12* 162.13****p
Hierarchal regressions indicated that participation in cognitively-stimulating activities contributed significantly to the explained variance of most of the crystallized and fluid tests. In this follow-up study, we investigated whether the participation of adults with intellectual disability (ID) with and without Down syndrome (DS) in postsecondary education (PSE) in the form of academic courses may contribute to their cognitive performance beyond other cognitively-stimulating activities in which they engage
The sample included 49 participants divided into two groups: Adults with ID who participated in the PSE academic program in Bar-Ilan University, and adults with ID who participated in various types of cognitivelystimulating activities, but not in the PSE

Summary

Objectives

The operative goals of this study were: (1) To examine the effect of participation in PSE versus other cognitively-stimulating activities on crystallized and fluid tests performance of adults with NSID and with DS, (2) To examine whether different patterns of performance on the crystallized and fluid tests would be found between participants with NSID and with DS, and (3) To examine whether differences in the crystallized and fluid tests would be found between two age groups (25-45 versus 45-59)

Methods

Results

Conclusion