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Sustained attention to response task performance trajectories in Down syndrome.
G G Faught1, Z M Himmelberger2, A S Tungate1
1Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR
|December 28, 2020
Summary
Youth with Down syndrome (DS) show more attention lapses over time in auditory tasks compared to visual tasks. This finding is crucial for tailoring educational strategies and assessments for individuals with DS.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Developmental psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Sustained attention (SA) in youth with Down syndrome (DS) is often viewed as a singular cognitive ability.
- However, the specific changes in auditory and visual SA over time require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the performance trajectories of auditory and visual sustained attention in youth with DS.
- To determine if auditory and visual SA decline differently over task presentation time.
Main Methods:
- Secondary data analysis using multilevel modeling.
- Comparison of auditory and visual sustained attention to response task (SART) performance in 42 youth with DS (aged 10-22 years).
Main Results:
- Auditory omission errors escalated more rapidly than visual omission errors as SART blocks increased.
- This indicates a differential decline in sustained attention between auditory and visual modalities over time.
Conclusions:
- Youth with Down syndrome experience a greater increase in sustained attention lapses in the auditory modality compared to the visual modality.
- These findings have significant implications for designing effective academic instruction and assessment methods for this population.
