This work was supported by a grant from Shalem Fund for Development of Services for People with Intellectual Disabilities in the Local Councils in Israel
The aim of these study is examine developmental trajectories of working memory among individuals with intellectual disabilities (IQ = 40-70, N = 123) (hereinafter ID) NSID (non-specific intellectual disability), and Down Syndrome (DS) from adolescence (ages 16-21) to later adulthood (41-55).We used nine test (Cornoldi & Vecchi, 2003) for testing the three components of working memory (Baddeley, 2007).
From adolescence (16-21) to young adulthood (25-40): In the phonological loop and central executive in phonological modality there was an increase in working memory. In the visuospatial sketchpad and central executive in spatial modality tasks, a non-significant moderate decline was found. From young adulthood (25-40) to later adulthood (41-55): in the verbal working memory was found a decline. In the visuospatial working memory a non significant moderate decline was found. The second part of the study examined the effect of participation in leisure activity on the development of working memory among individuals with ID age 20 and older. Use was made of the Participation in leisure time activities questionnaire (Wilson & Benet, 2005). The level of participation in leisure time activities contributed significantly to scores in two verbal working memory tests and one visuospatial working memory test.
Keywords: Working memory, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, phonological loop, visual-spatial sketchpad, central executive, adolescence, adults, trajectories