# What's it like to talk to someone with Williams Syndrome? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009 "2010-12-13T18:02:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/21 "2011-12-07T22:59:23Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Is it possible for someone to have both at once? It seems very unlikely. The diagnosis criteria for Asperger Syndrome requires that there is no significant delay in cognitive development, for one thing. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/22 "2011-12-07T23:48:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Thanks for the link, **pravnik**. As I read it, I was comparing the girl, Isabelle, with the case study of a town in New Jersey, Glen Ridge, where the gang rape of a mentally retarded girl took place (it was called Our Guys). The girl (called “Leslie” in the book) was very trusting and often let people take advantage of her because she so badly wanted a friend. This case was the basis for one of the best episodes of Law & Order ever. > **["Law & Order" Damaged (TV Episode 1998) ⭐ 8.1 | Crime, Drama, Mystery](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629229/)** > > 46m | TV-14 ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/23 "2011-12-07T23:51:05Z")
Many (or most) adults with Aspergers are socially stilted; not socially adept at all. They are often very bright and high-functioning (albeit in a narrow range of interests and skills) but not social butterflies by a long shot. So I don’t see how there could be an overlap with WS. > **[Asperger's Syndrome](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/531750)** > > In a patient who reports a history of difficulty learning social rules, learning problems, and rocking behaviors, what is the best way to evaluate for potential Asperger's syndrome? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/24 "2011-12-07T23:56:18Z")
People with AS are often extroverted. In fact, I once read that they are just as extroverted as the “normal” population. But they can become shy (which is not the same thing as introversion) due to repeated failures in social interactions. I think a better question is whether someone can be on the autism spectrum and have WS. I don’t know the answer to this question, but I imagine that mental retardation of known origin kind of trumps the autism diagnosis. Like, if someone with Fragile X has autistic features, they will walk around with a “Fragile X” label, not an “autistic” one. Any social shortcomings with WS would–I also imagine–stem from the mental retardation rather than from any sensory/neurological weirdness that often affects people with autism. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/25 "2011-12-08T00:36:01Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > I think there’s more to Williams syndrome than just those traits - Williams syndrome can cause the individual to be so open, engaging and trusting towards others that it constitutes a danger to themselves. NPR had a very interesting story on a few months ago about a 9 year old girl with Williams syndrome: [A Life Without Fear](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126224885). The text story is interesting, but listen to the audio version if possible. Reading that, I find myself agreeing with some of the comments: That girl is fine. It’s everybody else in the world who is fucked up. Imagine if people were all that trusting and loving of everyone else? It would be paradise! Of course, then we’d all be eaten by the lions we ran over to play with, before we had time to evolve or create culture or society. But apart from that little snag… ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/26 "2011-12-08T03:08:03Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Reading that, I find myself agreeing with some of the comments: That girl is fine. It’s everybody else in the world who is fucked up. Imagine if people were all that trusting and loving of everyone else? It would be paradise! > > Of course, then we’d all be eaten by the lions we ran over to play with, before we had time to evolve or create culture or society. But apart from that little snag… Trust is not some kind of natural state. Fear is. Without fear, every species would be utterly fucked, not just humans. Humans who are unfortunate enough to be born without fear, though, are fortunate enough that our species is sufficiently intelligent to tolerate evolutionary weakness. The survival of bunnies and birds and feral cats, indeed all manner of creatures, is completely predicated on fear. Without fear, there is no survival (which you alluded to, but I disagree that it’s a desirable trait). How successful would a wild bird with a sprained wing be if they trusted a human who wanted to pick them up? Even if the human wanted to help the bird, we couldn’t possibly communicate that to them. Think how frustrating it would be to a parent of a kid with Williams Syndrome, to have your kid willing to run off with a stranger at the drop of a hat! I wonder if there is anything that a person with Williams Syndrome is afraid of. Do they ever experience the fight-or-flight of an adrenaline rush? Or do they love scary things, too (like horror movies)? I hope this post is taken in the tone that I intend, and not as ANY indictment of people with developmental disabilities. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/27 "2011-12-08T09:36:19Z")
Oh! This is fascinating. I love the internet! I’m 40 and have never heard of this before (or had any experience with it.) My immediate reaction is that it would be something on the autism/Asperger’s spectrum as well. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/28 "2011-12-08T10:55:08Z")
could a person with Williams Syndrome have an above average intelligence? Actually be really smart ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009/29 "2011-12-08T11:15:47Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > This case was the basis for one of the best episodes of Law & Order ever. > > ["Law & Order" Damaged (TV Episode 1998) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629229/) That is my favorite episode of L&O. When i was growing up in a small town in western NY, from about 66 to mid 70s around town you would see a _very_ tall man, who recognized people and their cars, extremely friendly and he made his living doing odd jobs. Just because you are mildly retarded doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to be a member of society _as long as you have people willing to watch over you so you do not get taken advantage of_. He died from some cardiac issue that rides along with his marfan’s syndrome. He was a very sweet man and always would stop and talk to my brother and I with just as much attention as he would take with adults. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-it-like-to-talk-to-someone-with-williams-syndrome/564009.md?page=1)