Infants and children with Down syndrome (DS) can look forward toward bright futures, as individuals with DS are living healthier, more productive lives than ever due to medical advances, opportunities for early and continued intervention, and inclusive education. Despite these advances, infants and children with DS experience challenges in specific domains of cognitive functioning relative to their typically developing (TD) peers. Over the long term, individuals with DS are also more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease relative to the general population. Understanding cognitive functioning early in life may be important in charting cognitive decline over time. This chapter synthesizes the literature on cognitive functioning in infants and children with DS specific to general intelligence or IQ, language development, recall memory, and executive functioning, with additional focus on critical issues and future directions. These research findings provide important information for understanding cognitive competencies and intervention opportunities for children with DS and also serves to provide a foundation from which to plan longitudinal studies examining stability and change in cognitive functioning over time.
Keywords: Cognition; Down syndrome; Executive functioning; Intelligence; Language; Memory.
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