An Exploration of Social Cognition in Children with Different Degrees of Genetic Deletion in Williams Syndrome.

Alberto and team looked at social thinking in kids with Williams syndrome. They split the kids by how much DNA was missing on chromosome 7. Some kids kept the GTF2I genes; others lost them.

Each child did short tasks. They judged who was nice or mean in photos. They also answered theory-of-mind questions like 'Where will Sally look for her ball?'

Kids who still had GTF2I got more social questions right. They picked the trustworthy face and passed false-belief tests more often.

Kids with the full deletion scored lower. The gap stayed even when both groups had the same IQ.

Ikeda et al. (2023) tracked emotion growth over time. They also saw WS kids fall behind peers on desire and moral feelings. Alberto adds that the fall may start at the gene level.

Amore et al. (2011) found no special face 'pull' in WS—just slow disengagement. Alberto shows slow disengagement may matter less if GTF2I is intact; those kids still read people better.

Mertz et al. (2014) studied Angelman syndrome the same way. They tied bigger DNA losses to worse language. Alberto repeats the pattern: more deleted bases, weaker social skills.

If you test a child with Williams syndrome, ask the genetic report. A full 7q11.23 deletion warns you to expect weaker social reasoning. Keep GTF2I status in your file; it can explain why some clients 'get' sarcasm and others do not. Target social-cognition drills early for the full-deletion group and track smaller steps of progress.