Groundbreaking study: People with intellectual disabilities can get smarter as they age
Debunking a myth, Bar-Ilan researcher says adults with Down syndrome and nonspecific intellectual disabilities improve their cognitive functioning with postsecondary education
Reporter at The Times of Israel
For years, researchers believed that when people with intellectual disabilities age, they experience an early decline in cognitive functioning.
But a groundbreaking study by Hefziba Lifshitz of Bar-Ilan University challenges that assumption, showing that individuals with Down syndrome as well as those with nonspecific intellectual disability can actually improve in intelligence in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s.
“What we originally believed was a myth. We now have evidence that cognitive development for these populations continues well into adulthood, and this is the time to develop their cognitive skills,” Lifshitz said in a video call with The Times of Israel.
The research shows that educational and developmental programs should be extended beyond adolescence, as people with intellectual disabilities demonstrate the capacity for continued cognitive growth.
“This is particularly relevant as life expectancy for individuals with intellectual disabilities continues to increase, with many now living beyond 80 years,” Lifshitz said.
Lifshitz collaborated with Dr. Roi Yozevitch from Ariel University and Dr. Shlomit Shnitzer-Meirovich from the Levinsky College of Education. The article was recently published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.
Six college graduates
Lifshitz’s research findings have been further validated by the graduation of six students, all in their 30s and 40s, who became the first cohort of adults with intellectual disabilities in Israel to receive their bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Social Science at Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Education in July 2024.
Among them, two have Down Syndrome.
Lifshitz worked with Dr. Shoshana Nissim and Dr. Irit Chen of the university to establish the Empowerment Project in 2014.
It is the first of its kind in Israel.
The project, serving 120 adults with all levels of intellectual disability — from mild to moderate as well as severe to profound — provides college-level courses adapted to the individuals’ needs.
The six graduates learned with typical students in regular classes. They did scientific research, presented papers, conducted surveys, and completed a basic statistics course.
One of the graduates of the program, Ruti Bar-Or, who has Down syndrome, told interviewers at the university that the staff “helped us understand the material better.” She said that she hopes to work as a lecturer for people with special needs.
Another graduate, Oded Naftali, who also has Down syndrome, said that when he came to the university, he was “a bit shy” and slowly “overcame it.”
“Whatever I didn’t understand, I asked,” Naftali said.
Potential for improving IQ
At the start of the academic program, Lifshitz measured the students’ IQ levels and found them to be within the parameters of an intellectual disability.
A little more than four years later, research showed that the IQ level of the six students was “almost at a normal level,” showing that a postsecondary education has “the potential for improving the IQ of adults.”
“We saw them develop right in front of our eyes,” said Lifshitz.
“People assumed that adults with intellectual disabilities are close to dementia at an early age and have a decline in adaptive behavior,” Lifshitz said. “But we showed the opposite.”
The program is based on Lifshitz’s “compensation age theory,” which states that the early delay in the development of people with intellectual disabilities is compensated for in later years with maturity and experience.
Lifshitz said the theory shows that as these individuals age, they go through processes of cognitive development and growth rather than stagnation or even decline, as previously believed.
The Otzmot Empowerment Project of Bar Ilan University for people with intellectual disabilities.
“Empirical findings indicate that chronological age, maturity, and accumulating life experiences, combined with what’s known as mediation, or cognitive intervention, and academic learning as well as indirect learning can enhance adults’ literacy,” Lifshitz said.
After the students graduated from Bar-Ilan, Lifshitz said that she thought her job was finished. But the students’ parents wanted them to continue with their education.
They enrolled in a one-year program to receive certificates as service librarians. They are now doing an internship at Bar-Ilan’s Library and Information Division.
“I saw the myth in the professional literature that all we can do for adults with intellectual disabilities is to preserve their knowledge,” Lifshitz said. “But now we have proof that we can develop their knowledge.”
She reemphasized her belief that every person with intellectual disabilities would benefit from postsecondary education.
“If people with intellectual disabilities choose to study,” said Nissim, the Empowerment Project director, “then we as a society must find the right tools to help them get to where they want to go.”
