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Accelerated development of object permanence in Down's syndrome infants
1Child Development Centre of Northern Virginia, Falls Church.
Child: Care, Health and Development
|July 1, 1987
Summary
Infants with Down syndrome rapidly learned object permanence skills through home-based instruction. Most mastered multiple visible displacements, indicating significant cognitive development in sensorimotor intelligence.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Development
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Down syndrome is associated with developmental delays, impacting cognitive abilities.
- Object permanence is a key developmental milestone in sensorimotor intelligence.
- Early intervention can potentially mitigate developmental challenges in infants with Down syndrome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the efficacy of targeted instruction in teaching object permanence to infants with Down syndrome.
- To determine the rate of cognitive progress in sensorimotor development for these infants.
Main Methods:
- Six infants (3-19 months) with Down syndrome participated.
- Instruction focused on object permanence tasks (Piaget's stages 3-6).
- Intervention occurred in homes and a child development center, led by parents and a psychologist over 8 months.
Main Results:
- Infants demonstrated rapid progress in solving object permanence tasks.
- Most participants mastered multiple visible displacements by the study's end.
- This mastery corresponds to the fifth stage of sensorimotor intelligence.
Conclusions:
- Targeted intervention is effective in enhancing object permanence skills in infants with Down syndrome.
- Cognitive development in sensorimotor intelligence can be significantly advanced through early, tailored instruction.
- Parental and professional involvement can facilitate rapid learning and developmental gains.