Development of Cognitive Functions and Academic Skills in 9- to 10-year-old Children with Borderline Intellectual Functioning

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal study examined whether the cognitive and academic development of children (M_age = 10.52 years) with Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF), is characterized by developmental delay or atypical development. Cognitive tasks, arithmetic tasks, and reading tasks were administrated during three succeeding years to the BIF group and a Chronological Age-Matched Comparison (CAMC) group. The BIF children displayed weaknesses in relation to all tasks, and slower developmental rates on four arithmetic tasks and word reading. The results provide evidence in support of the developmental delay model as the BIF children overall displayed similar developmental growth and trends as the CAMC group.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Ethics

This research project has been approved by the Regional Ethics Committee in Linköping, Sweden (Protocol Number 2011/58-31)

Data Availability Statement

The main and corresponding author has full access to all the data used in this study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research under Grant 2010-0078