This work was supported by a grant from Shalem Fund

The study’s goal was to examine giftedness phenomenon in the field of visual art among adolescents (aged 16-21) with intellectual disability (ID). The participants included twenty-nine adolescents with ID with a artistic talent in painting and 26 without such talent. The research question was, whether this talent is domain-specific, or whether they have high global cognitive ability in the field of intelligence and cognitive flexibility. Those with artistic giftedness exhibited higher fluid intelligence, cognitive flexibility and creativity. Similarly, to artistic giftedness in a population with typical development, the population with ID demonstrated that giftedness is domain-general. The findings have implications on education in younger ages and on post secondary education as well as on vocational possibilities of adults with ID.

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Key words:

Intellectual disability, giftedness – unique talents, crystallized/fluid intelligence, cognitive flexibility, creativity