This review article examines current knowledge about the efficacy of art therapy based on the findings of 8 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted with adult populations from 2008-2013 that met a high standard of rigor. Of these studies, all but one reported beneficial effects of art therapy. Review findings suggest that art therapy may…

Measures developed from animal models of aging may detect dementia of the Alzheimer's type in a population at-risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although, by middle age, individuals with Down syndrome (DS) show an extraordinarily high prevalence of AD-type pathology, their severe idiopathic cognitive deficits tend to confound the "clinical"…

Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by increased mortality rates, both during early and later stages of life, and age-specific mortality risk remains higher in adults with DS compared with the overall population of people with mental retardation and with typically developing populations. Causes of increased mortality rates early in life are…

Comparison of cognitive processes in 23 individuals with Down's syndrome (DS) and 23 individuals of comparable mental handicap without Down's syndrome found that older (above 40 years) DS subjects had significantly poorer outcomes. The areas of speech rate, number finding, and expressive attention appeared to show the earliest signs of dementia of…

Background: Verbal intrusion errors are irrelevant responses made in the course of verbal memory retrieval or language production that have been associated with disruption of executive functions and the prefrontal cortex. They have been observed to occur more frequently both with normal aging and with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's…

This paper reports on a 15-year follow-up of the linguistic and cognitive profile of a woman with standard trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). The follow-up found recent rapid deterioration in receptive and productive language skills. However, basic phonological and morphosyntactic skills are preserved. Her changing profile mirrors that found in aging…

Because dyspraxia (partial loss of the ability to perform purposeful motor acts) is an early symptom of Alzheimer disease, a 62-item dyspraxia scale adapted for adults with Down syndrome (DS) was developed. Use of the measure over 3.5 years with 72 DS individuals (age 40 or older) found statistically significant deterioration that suggested…

Recently, more attention is being given to identifying aging-related and dementia-related pathological changes in performance and cognition among persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). This literature review examines age-related differences in specific aspects of cognitive functioning and cognitive performance of people with ID and…

A study of language patterning as an indicator of higher cortical process focused on three matched comparison groups: normal pre-middle-aged, normal elderly, and elderly adults with senile dementia Alzheimer's type. In addition to tests of memory, level of cognitive function, and organic deficit, the formal aspects of language were analyzed in…

Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses compared age-related changes in adaptive functioning in institutionalized adults with and without Down's syndrome. Cross-sectional analysis showed significant differences related to level of functioning but not to age or etiology. Longitudinal analysis showed a decline in self-help and communication skills…