Growth and Development in Adulthood among Persons with Intellectual Disability

This volume advocates an optimistic new conceptual and practical approach to adulthood, aging, and education for individuals with intellectual disability (ID) across the lifespan. The compensation age theory (CAT) at the heart of this book suggests that the adulthood period in populations with ID may be characterized by processes of cognitive development, growth, and neural sprouting, rather than stagnation or even decline. Empirical findings indicate the contribution of chronological age, matur