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. 2022 Feb 4;12(1):1936.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-05825-4.

Cognitive profiles in children and adolescents with Down syndrome

Sara Onnivello  1 , Francesca Pulina  2 , Chiara Locatelli  3 , Chiara Marcolin  2 , Giuseppe Ramacieri  4 , Francesca Antonaros  4 , Beatrice Vione  4 , Maria Caracausi  4 , Silvia Lanfranchi  2
Affiliations

Cognitive profiles in children and adolescents with Down syndrome

Sara Onnivello et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The Down syndrome (DS) phenotype is usually characterized by relative strengths in non-verbal skills and deficits in verbal processing, but high interindividual variability has been registered in the syndrome. The goal of this study was to explore the cognitive profile, considering verbal and non-verbal intelligence, of children and adolescents with DS, also taking into account interindividual variability. We particularly aimed to investigate whether this variability means that we should envisage more than one cognitive profile in this population. The correlation between cognitive profile and medical conditions, parents' education levels and developmental milestones was also explored. Seventy-two children/adolescents with DS, aged 7-16 years, were assessed with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III. Age-equivalent scores were adopted, and Verbal and Non-Verbal indices were obtained for each individual. The cognitive profile of the group as a whole was characterized by similar scores in the verbal and non-verbal domain. Cluster analysis revealed three different profiles, however: one group, with the lowest scores, had the typical profile associated with DS (with higher non-verbal than verbal intelligence); one, with intermediate scores, had greater verbal than non-verbal intelligence; and one, with the highest scores, fared equally well in the verbal and non-verbal domain. Three cognitive profiles emerged, suggesting that educational support for children and adolescents with DS may need to be more specific.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cognitive profile of the sample as a whole, considering indices and subtests. RV=Receptive Vocabulary, PN = Picture Naming, IN =  Information, BD = Block Design, OA = Object Assembly.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The cognitive profiles based on the indices.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The cognitive profiles based on the subtests. RV = Receptive Vocabulary, PN = Picture Naming, IN =  Information, BD = Block Design, OA = Object Assembly.
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