Explicit memory among individuals with mild and moderate intellectual disability: Educational implications

We previously reported a meta-analysis of explicit memory studies in populations with intellectual disability (ID). The current study discusses the educational implications of this meta-analysis. The main factors at the core of these implications can be divided into two categories: those related to task characteristics (e.g., depth of processing, task modality, test type), and those related to participant characteristics (e.g., chronological age, aetiology). Recommendations include: (1) exposing participants with ID to deep rather than shallow encoding, and using visual scaffolding when teaching verbal material; (2) designing memory tests based on recognition more than free recall, and using various types of questions; (3) teaching individuals with ID memory strategies even though they might only be used later because memory could improve with age; and (4) designing instruction based mainly on linguistics skills for individuals with Williams syndrome and instruction based mainly on visuo-spatial and gesture skills for individuals with Down syndrome.