The Impact of Cognitive Impairment in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

The focus of the present study is to identify the most compromised aspects of cognitive impairment and how children with intellectual disabilities cope with them. A sample of 53 school aged children with intellectual disabilities (N = 24) female and (N = 29) male from 5 to 11 years old. Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA) and Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (IQ) to children with intellectual disabilities were used for conducting research. Generally, children with intellectual disabilities experience high and moderate levels of cognitive impairments and a low IQ.  There is a significant positive relationship between age and IQ among girls and boys. In addition to cognitive impairment, a positive relation between impaired cognitive function, a high level of global disability in children with intellectual disabilities and a poor executive and memory functions were associated with difficulties in daily life activities. IQ is also a significant index of cognitive impairment and how children interact with others. Cognitive impairment is a major cause of low adoption with the environment and a significant factor that affects rehabilitation outcomes. Yet, there have been a limited number of studies that have evaluated the psychometric MoCA in children with severe intellectual disabilities, but it is necessary to identify possible difficulties in children with ID related to cognitive functions in young patients with mild to moderate impairment.