Development and Conservation of Basic Educational Skills in Individuals with Down Syndrome: A Longitudinal Research Study

We report the first results of a longitudinal research carried out on a sample of 100 people with Down syndrome, with the aim of verifying the skills achieved, maintained and preserved in reading and writing, over a period of time. The aim of this research is to rebuild the rehabilitation path of each subject through a structured interview questionnaire. At present, we have gathered a series of data relating to the capacity for reading, comprehension and writing, giving a series of tests to a sample of 26 subjects with the Down syndrome, some still integrated in the context of school, while others are no longer at school having already completed the planned study cycle. It is also our intention, at the conclusion of the research, to succeed in understanding which educational and/or didactic methods and which rehabilitative approaches have led to the best results in terms of development and conservation of basic educational skills. Although the sample on which we have gathered data is limited, we are already able to present some significant results pertaining to our research.