"Riby and Hancock point out that the underlying cause of the hyper-sociability of Williams syndrome is not yet known. Why do people with Williams syndrome spend so much time looking at eyes? It could be that people with Williams syndrome find it harder to control their gaze behavior and hence cannot inhibit excessive staring. Alternatively, they might take longer to process and understand the information they are accessing from the eyes. In addition, the authors point to recent work showing deficits in executive function and working memory tasks in Williams syndrome highlighting the possibility of attentional control problems in such patients. This discovery suggests the possibility that people with Williams syndrome find it difficult to disengage their attention from faces. Because attention shifting deficits have also been reported for autism, Riby and Hancock propose that the relationship between the prefrontal cortex (involved in inhibiting behavior) and the amygdala (involved in emotion processing) may be crucial in both of these neuro-developmental disorders."
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Those Williams Syndrome Eyes...
Eyes: A New Window on Mental Disorders: Scientific American:
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Expectations, Anticipation and Change: One Mom Details her Life with a Williams Syndrome Child
Louie and Ace: Vowels and Consonants:
You know, the funny thing about Williams Syndrome, which really isn't funny at all. Why do we use such stupid language sometimes? Anyway, the not so funny thing about Williams Syndrome is that I'd never heard of it. Ever. In my life. So, when Louie was diagnosed, it could be anything I wanted it to be. Oh, here on the Internet, it says mild to moderate retardation, so of course I deemed that Louie would be the "mild" case. Many kids with Williams Syndrome are musically gifted. I envisioned Louie playing with the Philharmonic or touring the world singing in 100 different languages. I read children with WS were extremely extroverted, conversational and friendly and loved people. Making friends at every corner; the adored child.Okay, so it's not turning out that way so far. I know, I know, there's still time. But he is very atypical for someone with WS. He's what has been called "low-functioning". He is not friendly. He's not showing any musical talent. He doesn't speak a single word or even attempt words. He babbles, 'a' and 'e' and even that is rare. Who would have ever thought vowels and consonants would mean so much to me? His speech therapist sent home a note this week saying she heard the sound "muh." Do I celebrate? Yes, I suppose I do.He has been diagnosed with autism. Point here is not poor me, as much as I realize it may sound. The point is that every moment, I'm learning more about what it means to be the mother of Louie. And who he really is. And it doesn't matter how many labels we put on him and how much I read about these labels. He'll still be Louie. But a Louie that tugs a little harder on my metaphorical, yet vulnerable, heart.
Balancing Faith and families - Williams Syndrome Children in Church
Balancing Faith and families - TwinCities.com
A very informative article on how one church has learned to include a WS child in their life.
A very informative article on how one church has learned to include a WS child in their life.
Getting Ready for School? Teacher Aids for Kids with WS
Click here for a link to the WSA page for educators...
"As educational psychologist Eleanor Semel says, 'Educators are confused because the Williams syndrome child tests like the retarded child, talks like a gifted child, behaves like a disturbed child, and functions like a learning-disabled child.' Each of these terms has a specific meaning in the world of special education, yet none seems to fit the characteristic peaks and valleys in Williams syndrome. The result is that children with Williams syndrome are generally not well served by schools."
"As educational psychologist Eleanor Semel says, 'Educators are confused because the Williams syndrome child tests like the retarded child, talks like a gifted child, behaves like a disturbed child, and functions like a learning-disabled child.' Each of these terms has a specific meaning in the world of special education, yet none seems to fit the characteristic peaks and valleys in Williams syndrome. The result is that children with Williams syndrome are generally not well served by schools."
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
The Neurocritic: Broken Social Scene
The Neurocritic: Broken Social Scene:
The Neurocritic reviews a new study on gaze analysis that compares WS subjects to typically developing and autistic subjects.
The Neurocritic reviews a new study on gaze analysis that compares WS subjects to typically developing and autistic subjects.
"The WS subjects viewed faces for a longer duration than did their respective controls. Specifically, the WS group spent more time viewing the eyes, but not the mouth. Conversely, as has been demonstrated in previous studies, the participants with autism spent significantly less time looking at faces (eyes in particular) than did their controls.
Whilst individuals with autism spent a significantly smaller proportion of time than typical fixating on characters’ eyes (17% of face gaze time), those with WS spent significantly longer than typical fixating on the same region (58% of face gaze time). Visual attention to the eyes may be implicated in other divergent abilities in face perception, such as the interpretation of gaze cues and expressions, where individuals with WS are more proficient than those with autism."
Thursday, July 31, 2008
State-funded services help child | Twin Cities Daily Planet | Minneapolis - St. Paul
State-funded services help child | Twin Cities Daily Planet | Minneapolis - St. Paul:
"Several days ago, my twelve year-old son, Erich, sat in front of our church congregation and played the guitar to the tune of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands.” It was one of those hand-on-your-heart moments, and it simply took my breath away. To many it would have seemed a normal, everyday occurrence, but for those who know Erich, they understood what it has taken for him to confidently strum a tune on a guitar.
Two days after his first birthday, Erich was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the seventh chromosome. As a result of this syndrome, Erich has many developmental disabilities, especially fine and gross motor as well as speech delays. However, thanks to state-funded human services, Erich has developed skills that have greatly enriched his life."
"Several days ago, my twelve year-old son, Erich, sat in front of our church congregation and played the guitar to the tune of “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands.” It was one of those hand-on-your-heart moments, and it simply took my breath away. To many it would have seemed a normal, everyday occurrence, but for those who know Erich, they understood what it has taken for him to confidently strum a tune on a guitar.
Two days after his first birthday, Erich was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting the seventh chromosome. As a result of this syndrome, Erich has many developmental disabilities, especially fine and gross motor as well as speech delays. However, thanks to state-funded human services, Erich has developed skills that have greatly enriched his life."
Family Looks for Help in Building Addition Onto Home for WS Son
CBS 7 - Your Eye on West Texas
Trace sufferes from Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder which formed his arteries too small; making it difficult to breath and even harder to play.
"We're supposed to limit his activity and its hard to do with having older brothers and wanting to play and stuff."
The Covington's home is also a challenge. Trace doesn't have a bedroom and in between playing the piano and riding piggy back on his big brother's bike, Trace has few places to recoup.
"We're just wanting to have an environment so he can go and have fun instead of going outside and running and playing and stuff."
So, Trace's parents contacted the Make A Wish Foundation, in hopes of giving their son his first bedroom.
"It tears at our hearts that he's having to do without."
Unfortunately, just when they thought Trace's wish was granted, Make A Wish informed them otherwise.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Ipswich’s Hanwell a true Special Olympics champion - Ipswich, MA - Ipswich Chronicle
Ipswich’s Hanwell a true Special Olympics champion - Ipswich, MA - Ipswich Chronicle:
"Alyssa Hanwell loves to roller skate — in competition, only, though.
The longtime Special Olympics competitor typically puts away the wheels when the training season and state Special Olympics are past."
"Alyssa Hanwell loves to roller skate — in competition, only, though.
The longtime Special Olympics competitor typically puts away the wheels when the training season and state Special Olympics are past."
Vocabulary Abilities of Children With Williams Syndrome: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Relation to Visuospatial Construction Ability -- Mervis and John 5
Vocabulary Abilities of Children With Williams Syndrome: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Relation to Visuospatial Construction Ability -- Mervis and John 51 (4): 967 -- Journal of Speech, Language,:
"Conclusions: Concrete vocabulary is a relative strength for children with WS; relational vocabulary ability is very limited and is at about the level of visuospatial construction ability. Accurate determination of group comparison results depends on stringent group matching."
"Conclusions: Concrete vocabulary is a relative strength for children with WS; relational vocabulary ability is very limited and is at about the level of visuospatial construction ability. Accurate determination of group comparison results depends on stringent group matching."
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Oak View woman gets chance to sing with Wynonna Judd : Lifestyle : Ventura County Star
Oak View woman gets chance to sing with Wynonna Judd : Lifestyle : Ventura County Star:
"Born with a rare genetic condition, Trieana Moon is nonetheless honing her passion for music with her own CD and singing onstage with her idol, Wynonna Judd.
'It was my dream come true to see her and perform with her; it was amazing,' said Moon, 33, of Oak View, who sang 'Amazing Grace' with Judd this spring at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.
'I'd like to go back to Nashville and see Wynonna and perform with her again,' Moon said. 'She's got a voice like an angel. That would be my greatest joy, to work with a beautiful country singer like her because she's my idol.'
Moon has Williams syndrome, a condition of unknown origin that causes mental retardation and heart abnormalities and shares some similarities with autism."
Saturday, June 21, 2008
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