Modality Differences in Assessing Static- Extrinsic Spatial Abilities in Individuals with Down Syndrome
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Jennifer Yang
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 9:45 AM
End Date
26-4-2024 10:44 AM
Description
Spatial abilities allow one to comprehend, manipulate, and navigate the spatial environments of the physical world (Montello, 2015). Spatial abilities are crucial for everyday tasks and have implications for individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) who often work in spatially demanding jobs such as food preparation (Kumin & Schoenbrodt, 2016). Yet, assessing these abilities, particularly in the context of online testing, remains understudied (Yang et al., 2014). Our study investigates whether online testing yields similar results to in-person testing for individuals with DS, building on previous research showing their adeptness with digital interfaces (Nacher et al., 2018). Participants included 116 individuals (85 typically developing children aged 4-9 and 31 individuals with DS aged 12-25). Two tasks, adapted from Piaget's water level and cart tasks, were administered in online and physical modalities. In the water level task, participants determined where the water level would be if a jar were half full. In the cart task, participants indicated where a lightbulb would hang from a cart. Participants completed the digital modality first. Paired sample t-tests revealed no significant differences in performance between modalities for either typically developing children or individuals with DS across both tasks. Both typically developing children and individuals with DS showed comparable performance between online and in-person modalities, suggesting the viability of online testing for assessing spatial abilities in DS populations. This could help facilitate participant recruitment across geographical constraints. Further exploration into its applicability for other spatial tasks and populations with intellectual or developmental disabilities is needed.
Modality Differences in Assessing Static- Extrinsic Spatial Abilities in Individuals with Down Syndrome
Spatial abilities allow one to comprehend, manipulate, and navigate the spatial environments of the physical world (Montello, 2015). Spatial abilities are crucial for everyday tasks and have implications for individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) who often work in spatially demanding jobs such as food preparation (Kumin & Schoenbrodt, 2016). Yet, assessing these abilities, particularly in the context of online testing, remains understudied (Yang et al., 2014). Our study investigates whether online testing yields similar results to in-person testing for individuals with DS, building on previous research showing their adeptness with digital interfaces (Nacher et al., 2018). Participants included 116 individuals (85 typically developing children aged 4-9 and 31 individuals with DS aged 12-25). Two tasks, adapted from Piaget's water level and cart tasks, were administered in online and physical modalities. In the water level task, participants determined where the water level would be if a jar were half full. In the cart task, participants indicated where a lightbulb would hang from a cart. Participants completed the digital modality first. Paired sample t-tests revealed no significant differences in performance between modalities for either typically developing children or individuals with DS across both tasks. Both typically developing children and individuals with DS showed comparable performance between online and in-person modalities, suggesting the viability of online testing for assessing spatial abilities in DS populations. This could help facilitate participant recruitment across geographical constraints. Further exploration into its applicability for other spatial tasks and populations with intellectual or developmental disabilities is needed.