Analogical reasoning and working memory in people with moderate intellectual disability.

People with moderate intellectual disabilities (MID; IQ 50-55 to 40-45) show a lower cognitive development and problems of memorization. Because analogical tasks involve memory, they represent difficult tasks for them. Moreover, they have a shorter memory span (approximately 3 items) in comparison with people of the same mental age. For all these reasons, they usually get lower scores in traditional AR tests and their cognitive abilities are underestimated.

An analogical reasoning test was adapted in order to prevent memory overload for students with moderate intellectual disabilities. They are presented with a touch screen on which they see the A, B and C terms of the matrix. They construct the answer by choosing the different elements composing it. All components are shown on the lower part of the screen, together with incorrect components. This design allows them to create external memories and therefore to prevent memory overload. Compared to children of the same mental age, students solve items as well as children, thanks to the external memories.

These results mean that external memories help students with MID to perform as well as children of the same mental age, which means also that they can go further in AR tests that people usually think about them.