Contribution of a post-secondary academic enrichment program on cognitive abilities of adults with severe intellectual disability using an e-book

IF 2.9 2区医学 Q1 EDUCATION, SPECIAL

Research in Developmental Disabilities Pub Date : 2025-01-24 DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2025.104921

Hefziba Lifshitz , Shira Posner , Shlomit Shnitzer-Meirovich

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

We investigated the impact of participation in post-secondary university education (PSE) on the academic knowledge of adult students with severe intellectual disability and extensive support needs (SIDESN) vs. a similar group of controls who did not participate in PSE. We also examined whether the PSE would result in a "near transfer” to basic crystallized (facts and information) and fluid (problems involving executive functions and working memory) cognitive abilities, the contribution of background characteristics and crystallized and fluid abilities to their academic knowledge, semantic fluency and temporal relations.

Method

Nine adults with SIDESN (aged 27–58) participated in an Introduction to Sociology course using an Ecological-mediational Strategies Model that included use of an e-book while 10 other adults served as the control group. An academic knowledge test according to Bloom’s taxonomy as well as crystallized and fluid cognitive tests were administered at Time 1 (pre-course) and Time 2 (post-course).

Findings

MANOVAs indicated improvement in academic knowledge and a "near transfer" to crystallized and fluid tests in the PSE group at Time 2, versus stability or decline in the controls. Chronological age and the PSE program contributed to the EPV of the improvement in the knowledge test, semantic fluency and temporal relations.

Conclusions

Despite the small sample size, our findings indicated that academic PSE programs using technology hold potential for improving academic knowledge and cognitive abilities of crystalized and fluid types in adults with SIDESN, supporting the Compensation Age Theory, Enrichment Theory, and the Ecological-mediational Strategies Model that were developed for acquiring academic material for this special group.

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来源期刊

Research in Developmental Disabilities Multiple-

CiteScore

5.50

自引率

6.50%

发文量

178

期刊介绍： Research In Developmental Disabilities is aimed at publishing original research of an interdisciplinary nature that has a direct bearing on the remediation of problems associated with developmental disabilities. Manuscripts will be solicited throughout the world. Articles will be primarily empirical studies, although an occasional position paper or review will be accepted. The aim of the journal will be to publish articles on all aspects of research with the developmentally disabled, with any methodologically sound approach being acceptable.