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LostInSpace
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01 Oct 2008, 3:53 pm

Aurore wrote:
Hmmm. Well, he was a lot more socially skilled than I was. I felt so comfortable talking to him. I wonder if that really is always true, the 'superficiality,' since I definitely felt an emotional connection.


Sorry, by superficial I didn't mean that people with Williams syndrome can't form connections with people- I just meant that the appearance of good social skills is generally only superficial. In other words, in just a brief encounter they might seem socially skilled since they tend to be very friendly and sociable, but they actually have a lot of difficulty conforming to the norms of conversation (like topic maintenance for example). Really, they tend to need social skills training just like an Aspie would.


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LostInSpace
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01 Oct 2008, 3:58 pm

Rainstorm5 wrote:
LostInSpace wrote:

It's not really the opposite. People with Williams syndrome tend to be really friendly and talkative, but their social skills are very superficial. It is usually difficult for them to carry on a real conversation- they tend to exhibit "cocktail party speech" (like those with NLD) and don't understand social norms. They might walk up to people randomly and start a conversation, but then break it off randomly and go talk to someone else, or they may change topics randomly. So they don't actually have good social skills. They also often have the same problems with visual-spatial skills as people with NLD do.


Weird... that totally sounds like my husband. No wonder we get along so well.


It would be very unlikely for him to have undiagnosed Williams syndrome though. Williams syndrome is actually a genetic disorder with associated physical abnormalities and health problems (frequently cardiac issues for example), including a characteristic facial appearance. Also, most people with Williams syndrome have mental retardation.


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