While risk factors (Campbell et al., 2009) and compensatory strategies (Tomaszewski Farias et al., 2018) related to aging in the general population are well delineated, far less research has investigated these factors in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) across adulthood. This is despite a large corpus of research documenting highly elevated risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease among adults with Down syndrome (Fortea et al., 2021) and emerging evidence that autistic people are also at increased risk for experiencing age-related cognitive decline (Klein et al., 2023) and dementia (Vivanti et al., 2021). Thus, it is of the utmost importance to identify possible modifiable risk factors and compensatory strategies that could be harnessed to optimize aging trajectories among people with IDDs. The proposed symposium aims to address this critical knowledge gap by examining health-related risk factors (i.e., anticholinergic medication use) and psychosocial protective factors (i.e., social engagement and compensatory cognitive skills) among adults with Down syndrome and autistic adults with higher support needs spanning young, middle, and older adulthood.
Chair: Goldie McQuaid, George Mason University,
Second Chair: Nancy Raitano Lee, Drexel University,
Discussant: Gregory Wallace, The George Washington University
First Presentation: Anticholinergic Medication Use Among Young Adults with Down Syndrome: Relations with Everyday Executive Function and Dementia Screening Questionnaire Scores
Nancy Raitano Lee, Drexel University, Goldie McQuaid, George Mason University
Haila Jiddou, Drexel University
Hannah Grosman, Drexel University
Jessica McNulty, Drexel University
Meghan O’Brien, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Gregory L. Wallace, The George Washington University
Second Presentation: Anticholinergic Medication Use and Associations with Everyday Memory Problems and Cognitive Decline in Autistic Adults with Higher Support Needs
Goldie McQuaid, George Mason University, Nancy Raitano Lee, Drexel University
Annissa DeSilva, The George Washington University
Nicolette Cure, The George Washington University
Sophia Cluen, The George Washington University
Gregory L. Wallace, The George Washington University
Third Presentation: Social Engagement and Healthy Aging in People with Down Syndrome
Brianna Piro-Gambetti, University of Wisconsin, Madison,
Fourth Presentation: Use of Cognitive Compensation Strategies and Associations with Daily Living Skills and Health in Autistic Adults
Claire Klein, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vidya Gadikota, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Katie Rowland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Elena Lamarche, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Allison Meyer, University of Colorado
Laura Klinger, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill