Environment learning from virtual exploration in individuals with down syndrome: the role of perspective and sketch maps

Background. Spatial knowledge about an environment is an important determinant of ability to move effectively within it and of personal autonomy. Individuals with Down’s syndrome (DS) have difficulty managing configural visuospatial information. Method. Twenty-nine individuals with DS and 29 typically developing (TD) children, matched for mental age, learned about environments through virtual exploration using a route or survey view. A sketch map of the environment was or was not presented before exploration. Then the acquisition of configural knowledge (landmark locations) and route retracing were tested. Results. Individuals with DS were able to acquire configural knowledge through virtual exploration in all presentation conditions, and generally performed no worse than matched TD children. However, they were not able to benefit from the conditions that facilitated acquisition of configural knowledge in TD children, that is, seeing a sketch map before exploring and exploring in survey (rather than route) view. As regards route retracing, individuals with DS paused more often than controls and tended to travel longer paths, which made them slower overall. Conclusions. DS reduces children’s ability to benefit from additional survey information and may be related to difficulty in elaborating configural/simultaneous information.