The investigation of visuospatial memory and visual attention in children with intellectual disability and Down syndrome

Within cognitive domains, memory and attention are among the most studied processes in people with intellectual disabilities, and studies have documented difficulties or even heterogeneities in their functioning. This study investigates the differences and similarities in the development of visuospatial memory and visual attention between children with typical development and intellectual disabilities of various etiologies. The study involved 106 children: 42 with typical development, 41 with intellectual disabilities, and 23 with Down syndrome. The sex ratio was 1:1, and the mean chronological age across groups was 8.81 years. Tools used included the Visual Information Recall Scale and Scales for Sustained Visual Attention and Visual Attention Span. Findings revealed that children with typical development outperformed the others, with statistically significant differences between groups. Notably, children with intellectual disabilities and Down syndrome also showed significant differences, highlighting the cognitive heterogeneity in intellectual disabilities.