The relationship of Inhibitory Processes and Working Memory to Intelligence and Reading Skills in Children with Mild Intellectual Disabilities and Borderline Intelligence

Research on intellectual functioning suggests that intelligence weaknesses could involve deficits in Executive functions. In addition, research on the reading skills of students with Intellectual Disabilities, due to unspecified etiology, is sparse. Thus, the purpose of our study was to investigate inhibitory processes and working memory as well as their relationship to different degrees of intellectual disability and reading attainment. It was conducted on a randomized sample including 20 school children in the age of 6-8, whose intelligence was evaluated with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. A modified version of a go/no go task was used to assess inhibition. Working Memory Rating Scale (WMRS) was administered for the assessment of the working memory and the “Test of Reading Difficulties in kindergarten and 1st-2nd Elementary School” for the assessment of their reading performance. Results are analyzed in terms of deficits and strengths in children with mild intellectual disabilities and borderline intelligence. The predictive role of the working memory in both groups is also discussed.