The Central Executive System in People with Down's Syndrome and Dementia

Forty-one clients with learning disabilities (20 Down's Syndrome, 21 non-Down's Syndrome) were assessed using specially selected neuropsychological assessment tools at two time points separated by twelve months. Evidence for hypothesis 1 suggested that people with Down's Syndrome show a greater decline in cognitive abilities with age, compared with other groups of people with learning disabilities. A weak linear association (p < .004; r = .625; 2-tailed) between cognitive performance and social abilities was also found for the Down's Syndrome clients, supporting hypothesis 2. Findings were explained in terms of the link between declining cognitive abilities and dementia.