Williams syndrome is a genetic condition that causes abnormal physical and mental development. Symptoms include sociability, unusual language skills, elfin facial features, cardiovascular problems, high blood calcium levels, abnormal dental development, hyperacute hearing, and challenges with learning such as mental retardation and attention deficit disorder. Personality traits include high sociability and exceptional language skills, but also trouble with visual-spatial connections and fine motor skills. Learning disabilities, developmental delays, and ADD are common challenges.
People born with Williams syndrome display a number of symptoms that distinguish this genetic condition from similar conditions that also result in abnormal physical and mental development. Pronounced sociability, unusual language skills, elfin facial features and a tendency to have cardiovascular problems are the main symptoms of Williams syndrome. Babies with Williams syndrome may have abnormally high blood calcium levels that cause irritable symptoms that resemble colic. Other symptoms of Williams syndrome include problems with breastfeeding and feeding, abnormal dental development, hyperacute hearing, and structural problems with bones and muscles. They also often face challenges with learning which include mental retardation and attention deficit disorder (ADD) causing them to fall behind their peers in many stages of development.
There are a variety of physical characteristics that distinguish a person with Williams syndrome from others. Facial symptoms of Williams syndrome include an unusually flat nose bridge; a small, upturned nose; and epicanthal folds on the eyelids, as well as an open mouth with labia majora and ridges in the skin tissue between the upper lip and nose. Externally, children with Williams syndrome symptoms tend to be shorter than their siblings and have curled little fingers and sunken chests, while internally they tend to exhibit digestive problems, especially in infancy, which include reflux, vomiting, and colic. They are also often forward-thinking; they have malformed, misplaced. or missing teeth; a number of heart and blood vessel problems; and are prone to inguinal and umbilical hernias. Children with Williams syndrome may have hearing that can be oversensitive at certain frequencies, causing pain and a startle reflex.
Personality traits are the most obvious symptoms of Williams syndrome. Individuals with the condition display a high degree of sociability and often display exceptional language skills as they mature, despite experiencing language acquisition delays earlier in life. Typically extremely friendly, children with Williams syndrome often gravitate towards and relate more to adults in social situations rather than their peers. They also have trouble making visual-spatial connections and tackling tasks involving fine motor skills.
The biggest intellectual challenges faced by Williams syndrome sufferers have to do with learning disabilities, developmental delays, and ADD. Verbal and physical development is often delayed and behavioral accomplishments such as toilet training usually occur later than their peers. They are easily distracted as young children, but concentration sometimes improves as children with Williams syndrome get older. As adults and adolescents, they may exhibit a variety of unusual intellectual assets and deficits. People with William syndrome often have excellent long-term memories and quite refined social skills.
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