Which activity would most effectively promote the cognitive skills of a child with an intellectual disability?

Promoting the cognitive skills of a child with an intellectual disability involves activities that encourage critical thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to classify and organize information. Sorting buttons by color, shape, or size is particularly effective in this context because it engages the child in a thoughtful process that requires them to analyze and categorize objects based on distinct attributes.

This activity not only enhances their visual discrimination skills but also supports number concepts and logical reasoning as they compare and group items. It fosters understanding of relationships between different categories, boosts vocabulary related to colors and shapes, and helps in developing the ability to classify items, which is a foundational cognitive skill.

Other activities, while beneficial for various skills, may not specifically target the cognitive development as directly as sorting does. For instance, stringing beads helps with fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination but may not challenge cognitive reasoning in the same way. Creating shapes with modeling clay focuses more on creativity and sensory exploration, while playing follow-the-leader primarily promotes physical activity and imitation skills rather than cognitive classification or organization tasks. Thus, sorting buttons aligns closely with promoting cognitive skills through directed thinking and decision-making.