TY - JOUR
T1 - Visuo-spatial ability in individuals with Down syndrome
T2 - Is it really a strength?
AU - Yang, Yingying
AU - Conners, Frances A.
AU - Merrill, Edward C.
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - Down syndrome (DS) is associated with extreme difficulty in verbal skills and relatively better visuo-spatial skills. Indeed, visuo-spatial ability is often considered a strength in DS. However, it is not clear whether this strength is only relative to the poor verbal skills, or, more impressively, relative to cognitive ability in general. To answer this question, we conducted an extensive literature review of studies on visuo-spatial abilities in people with Down syndrome from January 1987 to May 2013. Based on a general taxonomy of spatial abilities patterned after Lohman, Pellegrino, Alderton, and Regian (1987) and Carroll (1993) and existing studies of DS, we included five different domains of spatial abilities - visuo-spatial memory, visuo-spatial construction, mental rotation, closure, and wayfinding. We evaluated a total of 49 studies including 127 different comparisons. Most comparisons involved a group with DS vs. a group with typical development matched on mental age and compared on a task measuring one of the five visuo-spatial abilities. Although further research is needed for firm conclusions on some visuo-spatial abilities, there was no evidence that visuo-spatial ability is a strength in DS relative to general cognitive ability. Rather, the review suggests an uneven profile of visuo-spatial abilities in DS in which some abilities are commensurate with general cognitive ability level, and others are below.
AB - Down syndrome (DS) is associated with extreme difficulty in verbal skills and relatively better visuo-spatial skills. Indeed, visuo-spatial ability is often considered a strength in DS. However, it is not clear whether this strength is only relative to the poor verbal skills, or, more impressively, relative to cognitive ability in general. To answer this question, we conducted an extensive literature review of studies on visuo-spatial abilities in people with Down syndrome from January 1987 to May 2013. Based on a general taxonomy of spatial abilities patterned after Lohman, Pellegrino, Alderton, and Regian (1987) and Carroll (1993) and existing studies of DS, we included five different domains of spatial abilities - visuo-spatial memory, visuo-spatial construction, mental rotation, closure, and wayfinding. We evaluated a total of 49 studies including 127 different comparisons. Most comparisons involved a group with DS vs. a group with typical development matched on mental age and compared on a task measuring one of the five visuo-spatial abilities. Although further research is needed for firm conclusions on some visuo-spatial abilities, there was no evidence that visuo-spatial ability is a strength in DS relative to general cognitive ability. Rather, the review suggests an uneven profile of visuo-spatial abilities in DS in which some abilities are commensurate with general cognitive ability level, and others are below.
KW - Closure
KW - Down syndrome
KW - Mental rotation
KW - Review
KW - Spatial memory
KW - Visuo-spatial ability
KW - Visuo-spatial construction
KW - Wayfinding
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84898995539&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.04.002
DO - 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.04.002
M3 - Review article
C2 - 24755229
AN - SCOPUS:84898995539
SN - 0891-4222
VL - 35
SP - 1473
EP - 1500
JO - Research in Developmental Disabilities
JF - Research in Developmental Disabilities
IS - 7
ER -