Effect of Cognitive Flexibility on Cognitive Flexibility in Adolescents with Intellectual Disability

Arjmandnia, Aliakbar; Mahaki, Farhad; Sharifi Jondani, Hamidreza; Mohammadi, Ahmad

Volume 7 - MEJDS (2017) 7: 94 | Back to browse issues page

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Arjmandnia A, Mahaki F, Sharifi Jondani H, Mohammadi A. Effect of Cognitive Flexibility on Cognitive Flexibility in Adolescents with Intellectual Disability. MEJDS 2017; 7 :94-94
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-623-en.html

Effect of Cognitive Flexibility on Cognitive Flexibility in Adolescents with Intellectual Disability

Aliakbar Arjmandnia ^*

¹, Farhad Mahaki¹

, Hamidreza Sharifi Jondani¹

, Ahmad Mohammadi²

1- Tehran University
2- Payamenoor University

Abstract: (5581 Views)

Abstract
Objective: Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18.Students diagnosed with intellectual disability, who receive special education services, should be provided with access to the general education curriculum, so they can interact with and learn from and alongside typical classmates. Special attention should be paid to the development of functional academic skills for these students. Functional academics refer to reading and mathematics skills that are used frequently in everyday life. In general, people with intellectual disability are less efficient at learning than are other people. This impairment in learning efficiency is roughly consistent with overall IQ level. Specific cognitive deficits often exist in such areas as memory, attention, or language. IDEA entitles every child with intellectual disability from age 3 through 21 to a free appropriate public education through an individualized education program (IEP). Cognitive flexibility has played essential roles in all of life aspects of people, typically in adolescents with intellectual and developmental disability. Therefore, the training cognitive flexibility programs led to improvement of cognitive flexibility. Executive functions included the most prominent aspects of the cognitive operations that are coherent and purposeful behavior which plays a complex role. The prefrontal cortex links with executive function processes. In the current research, the effect of cognitive flexibility training on cognitive problems in adolescents with intellectual disability was investigated.
Methods: The study employed a pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design. The participants in the study were 24 adolescents with intellectual and developmental disability recruited from among students in the career training centers for adolescents with special needs in Kermanshah-Iran. The experimental group received cognitive flexibility training program consisting of 15 sessions of 45-minutes, two times a week. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was used to evaluate two group’s symptoms. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was used to test the research hypotheses.
Results: The results of this study showed that the cognitive flexibility training program have a significant effect on cognitive problems in adolescents with intellectual disability in addition, the results of this study (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The findings reveled improving cognitive flexibility can be used as intervention to decrease cognitive problems in adolescent with intellectual and developmental disability. In cognitive flexibility theory, mental health is considered to be an acceptance of self’s internal and external environments, self- acceptance and commitment to activities which are consistent in terms of value. Since cognitive training is one of the common methods of training, introducing effective techniques to increase the cognitive flexibility and optimizing patient education may offer new perspectives in the management of cognitive problems.

Keywords: Cognitive flexibility, Intellectual Developmental Disability, Executive functioning.

Full-Text [PDF 707 kb] (3491 Downloads)

Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

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